


Purple runes in my memories

by Veikari



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Fire, Fluff, Frufus, Hotel Night, Love Confessions, M/M, Mage Hunters, Sabertooth - Freeform, Smut, fairy tail - Freeform, freed is cute and oblivious, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-06-21 18:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 52,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15564075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veikari/pseuds/Veikari
Summary: Frufus here (Freed Justine x Rufus Lore) While Freed is on a solo mission he is attacked by a mage hunter. Luckily there is a certain memory mage near to help him. But what are these hunters and why are they hunting mages down? I do not own Fairy Tail. Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

Freed walked along the path near the mountain area. The weather was nice, not too cold or not too hot with a light breeze of wind. At this rate it would take no time at all to arrive back in Magnolia. For the first time in a long time he was on a solo mission, mostly because others were occupied with their own doings.

Laxus had left for a solo mission a week ago. Bickslow was hanging out with Cana all the time and Evergreen of course mostly stayed at the Strauss siblings house. So that left Freed with all the time for himself. He was not used to that. He constantly needed something to do, anything at all and he was used to take care of his team. Now when they didn't need him...

Freed sighed and shook his head. No, he was the Captain of the Thunder Legion. He would not start feeling bad for himself! He should be glad that his friends had new friends. And he was, he really was happy for his friends that they had opened up for the rest of the Fairy Tail Guild. Now Bickslow had Cana and Evergreen had Elfman. They looked so happy. And after all that had been happening last years they really deserved to have all the happiness they could get.

The rune mage of course too had opened up a little but it was still hard for him to just sat down with others and relax. With Ever, Bicks and Laxus it was easy but others... He wasn't sure how he should act. He considered other guild mates as his friends but not just yet close friends who he could accompany anytime he wanted.

So now that he couldn't hang out with his closest friends, he had decided to take a solo mission so he could avoid the awkwardness in the Guild. It was supposed to last at least three days but he completed it in two days and was already heading home. Maybe he should just pick another mission right away once he would arrive at the Guild...

If even Laxus were back things would be easier. He wasn't all lovey dovey with someone - yet - and they could do something together. Yes, he had to be honest with himself and admit that he maybe had feelings for the Thunder God. But he wasn't sure if they were strong enough that he should confess. It could ruin their friendship and he most certainly did not want that! Even if his feelings would only strengthen he probably would never say anything to Laxus because of that.

Sudden rustling snapped Freed out of his musings and he unsheathed his rapier immediately. He knew this forest was a little bit too quiet. It wasn't normal that there were not even birds singing or little critters skittering around.

"Who goes there?" he asked looking at the dark forest. No answer.

He stood there and gazed at the forest perfectly still. He would not let his guard down even for a second. Freed just waited patiently until he could feel something approaching silently. But from behind him.

The rune mage sprung around quickly and metal let out a piercing screech sound when two swords hit each other.

"Impressive", stranger huffed with amusement stepping further from Freed. He was a big man with wild dark gray hair and green eyes. He had dark skin that was full of old scars. "You actually use that sword of yours."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't use it?" Freed asked calmly.

"You're a Fairy Tail mage, I can see your mark. I know some mages use weapons but you are the first I have encountered."

"Oh, then you have been really lucky", Freed smiled. "There are plenty of mages who use weapons and they are really strong. Be glad it is me you're against and not Erza Scarlet. But don't get me wrong, I promise to be a good adversary."

"I wonder if you can be that confident without your magic", man grinned and he took out two tiny things that looked like some kind of iron traps with nasty looking sharp teeth, attached in long chains. Freed could guess that he shouldn't let them bite him.

Freed hoisted up rune barriers that stopped the ironjaws.

"A rune mage, eh? It must be my lucky day, that magic is really rare", man with gray hair chuckled. "But that won't help you!" he said and Freed jolted when the jaws started to crunch their way through his rune barrier. And they did it really fast!

Quickly he hopped further and hit the jaws with his sword before they reached to bite him. At least they couldn't devour his rapier.

"Do you understand now, rune mage?" stranger laughed. "They eat magic! Any magic you throw to them, they will eat it like a piece of bread."

"I see", Freed huffed. He had to be extremely careful now. "But I'm pretty sure you can't devour magic like that", he said and locked his gaze at the man. He could stop those ironjaws by stopping that man. "Dark Écriture", he said and drew some runes in the air. "Pain", he said and swished his rapier.

But his runes were destroyed right before they could hit the man by two other ironjaws that appeared from his clothes. Freed gritted his teeth and quickly fought off jaws that tried to bite him. They were really fast! He had to figure something out, how could he destroy those traps without his magic?

"It looks like you have some struggles", man chuckled and Freed shouted when he felt sharp teeth sink in his flesh on his side. "Who knows how many I have these?"

Damn! It was the fifth! Freed had been so focused on the four others he didn't even realize there were one more. When he froze for a second because of the pain, two others bite him on his arm and leg. He could feel how blood rushed out from the wounds.

"You can't remove them without tearing your flesh", his opponent warned with an evil grin. "Just be a good boy and let them settle their hunger by eating up all of your magic until you can't even move a finger."

"I have never been one to give up easily", Freed panted starting to feel weak already. But he couldn't just give up! He would fight until he would win this battle or die!

"That is good to know, it wouldn't work for my benefit if you were a sissy", stranger cackled.

Suddenly man yanked the chains and Freed yelled in pain almost falling down. Those little teeth ripped his flesh more in every tug and it felt horrible. Then fourth ironjaw sunk it's teeth in his leg near the other and fifth did the same near the one in his arm. It hurt so bad! Like his wounds were burning! His hands and legs started to shake and suddenly he realized he was sweating and he felt dizzy.

"It's like poison", man with the gray mane grinned. "You can feel it. You can't control your body. But don't worry, I won't kill you. I just need you to lose your consciousness so this is easier."

"A-and why is that?" Freed panted and struggled to stay on his legs. Oh god, he didn't have anymore enough magic to even use his demon powers, he could hardly even think anymore.

"You don't need to worry about that. You'll find out soon. Now sleep", man snickered and pulled chains that were attached on Freed's leg, making him fall on the ground.

When he was down he just simply couldn't get up no matter how much he tried. All his power was leaving his body and he couldn't even lift his fingers. His mind was starting to drift off when he suddenly heard new noises. What happened? It sounded like someone was screaming... And then there was talking. Someone with a gruffy voice and then rather elegant and smooth voice.

Freed almost saw the faces of the two who approached but his sight finally gave in.

 

 

Freed was not sure how long he was out but when he finally woke up, he realized it was dark outside. Was it evening? Or morning? And where was he?

With a groan he moved a little bit. His arm, side and leg felt like they were burning and his head hurt like hell. Was it really poison those little things had in their jaws? Freed opened his tired eyes and looked around. He was in someone's bedroom... Was it one of those who he heard talking before he fainted? Was this friend's or foe's home?

Freed sneered and forced himself to sit up panting already. Where was his sword? Where was his coat? He realized that someone had undressed him almost completely and his wounds had been patched up. White bandages had been wrapped around him firmly but not too tight. Freed was still cautious but it seemed like this house did not belong to that stranger who he encountered.

Greenette wrinkled his nose now angrily. He had been really careless! He had let someone to ambush him like that and it almost cost him his life! Well, that man said he was not going to kill him but obviously he also wasn't going to care if Freed would accidentally die during the hunt.

Freed moved more and shifted his legs on the cool floor. His eyes adjusted more for the darkness and he could see more of his surroundings. It seemed to be a simple guestroom. There were bed, little bookshelf with some books, a wardrobe and a tiny table. Curtains covered the small window. Freed hissed in pain but was able to stood up. His leg still worked so he slowly limped to the window and moved the curtains.

It seemed like sun was slowly rising so it was early in the morning. He could see a glimpse of the town, this house was in a high place but his window was mostly overlooking the woods. He could also see the mountains and he recognized them as the same he had been watching while he was walking along the mountain path. So he wasn't that far from the place where he was ambushed. But he didn't know there were town here. If he had known that, he would have stopped to check out the town's library since he had time.

Freed turned around and scanned the room more. He limped to the wardrobe and opened the doors, sighing relieved when he found his red coat and sword. He couldn't find his other clothes, but there were some clothes that were probably meant for him to dress up. White t-shirt and black pants. Guess he had no choice.

The swordsman dressed himself and sat down on the bed. He was already huffing slightly, it took much energy to even put on some clothes. He started to feel dizzy and wiped some sweat off his forehead. He needed to overcome this and head back to the Magnolia.

Suddenly he could hear rustle from the door and he raised his gaze immediately. Oh god, his sword was still in the wardrobe!

Door opened and Freed blinked with surprise. He knew that man. Long blond hair, aristocratic clothing, red hat with feathers and red mask to cover top half of his face. He had seen him in the Grand Magic Games, what was his name again...

"Rufus Lore", Freed said with dry throat and he had to cough.

"Good morning, Freed Justine", Rufus chuckled and stepped on the room carrying a tray in his hands. "I'm flattered that you remember my name", he said and put the tray on the nightstand.

"You did take part in the Grand Magic Games", Freed said. "But how do you know my name?"

"You're more famous than you give yourself credit, the Captain of the Thunder Legion", Rufus chuckled pouring some water on the glass and handed it over to Freed.

He took the glass and gulped the water down.

"Thank you", he said.

"Don't mention it", Rufus smiled. "You should rest still. You are in no condition to walk around."

"What happened?" Freed asked. "I don't remember much..." he muttered rubbing his temples as his headache worsened when he tried to force himself to remember.

"You should lay down", the blond mage recommended taking the glass from his hand. "It takes time before that poison is out of your system."

"So it was poison?" Freed asked looking at Rufus who nodded and gently pushed him down on the mattress.

"But it won't kill you and you will return back to normal", he reassured. "But it will take some time, I'm afraid. It was a coincidence that me and Orga were near when that hunter attacked you."

"Hunter?" Freed asked confused.

"Yes. A Mage hunter."

"What?"

"You haven't heard of them yet? No wonder he managed to surprise someone like yourself, I have heard you are a quite powerful mage."

"I don't know about that", Freed said shaking his head and immediately he regretted it when he felt more pain.

"You're humble, I have heard that too", Rufus chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. He frowned now. "Mage hunters appeared not long ago. There have been around 21 cases - 22 now including you - where they have attacked mages and who knows how many cases there are that we don't know? We are not sure yet why they are attacking, but we have heard something about using the mages for something."

"Using?" Freed asked. "For what?"

"That we don't know yet", Rufus sighed shaking his head. "19 of those cases have happened in our town or near it so Sabertooth naturally does everything it can so we can stop these attacks."

"That is a lot in one town... Perhaps they have their headquarters near this town?"

"We thought about that too, that's why we happened to be near you with Orga while we were searching the forest", Rufus smiled. "I'm glad we got there in time."

"I'm most grateful of your help, I must also thank Orga when I see him."

"He went back to find those hunters with other team, I stayed here to take care of you."

"Thank you, Rufus. That is really kind of you. I'm already starting to feel better so I should probably -"

"No", Rufus said softly and he laid his hand down on Freed's chest. For some odd reason that made the rune mage blush slightly, making the memory mage chuckle. "You are not allowed to get up before our healer says it's okay. You lost almost all of your magic and those wounds are pretty deep. You shouldn't move around."

"But I really should head back to Magnolia", Freed protested. "They start to worry if I won't show up in time."

"Don't worry, we will make sure they know you're here. You can't travel back to Magnolia in your situation."

"How long will it take before I can travel again?"

"In best cases it has taken two weeks before mages are healed again."

"Two weeks?" Freed shouted and sat up. He immediately winced in pain, hissing and he gritted his teeth.

"I told you not to move", Rufus scolded. "Two weeks in a best case, but those injuries are bad and since that poison destroys magic they cannot be healed like we normally would heal wounds with magic."

"Oh, yeah... That does make sense", Freed muttered. "But I cannot possibly wait two weeks here."

"Of course you can", Rufus smiled. "You are more than welcome to stay until you're fully healed."

"Is this your house?"

"Yes. Feel free to make yourself home. I have lots of books if you are interested to study my library."

"You have a library?" Freed asked impressed. He had lots of books also but not his own library.

"Well, this is a rather big house", Rufus chuckled. "So, are you feeling hungry? I wasn't sure if I should prepare something yet since I don't know if you might be allergic to something."

"I have no allergies", Freed assured. "And I never complain when someone offers me food."

"That's good to know. Maybe I should then prepare some breakfast for you", Rufus smiled and stood up. "I will return soon", he said and stepped outside the door.

Freed was kinda...confused? There was no need for Rufus to keep him in his own house, he could have spent his time in Sabertooth's infirmary or in a tavern even. Rufus was not by any means obliged to take care of him. It was his own fault that he was caught.

So why did Rufus go through this all bother?


	2. Chapter 2

That day Freed mostly just stayed in the bed and slept. Despite trying to use his willpower to heal faster nothing happened and he just gave up and rested. At some point, maybe at the evening he woke up slightly not sure if he was still dreaming when something touched his cheek. It felt really nice, fingers caressing his skin softly, shifting hair from the other side of his face. He yawned and fingers disappeared immediately and it was kinda sad. Maybe it really was a dream.

But now he smelled something really good and fluttered his eyelashes opening his eyes and that dream was forgotten by then.

”Rufus”, he muttered still sleepily finally realizing who was sitting next to his bed.

”Hey, sleepyhead”, Rufus purred softly. ”I made some food for you, you need to eat. You didn’t even touch your dinner earlier.”

”Oh… I’m sorry”, Freed said. ”I really wasn’t hungry and I have mostly slept so I guess I forgot about dinner…”

”That’s no good”, Rufus scolded. ”If you don't eat, you won’t heal properly. Eating is really important even if you don’t feel really hungry.”

”I know”, Freed chuckled. ”I always say that to my teammates.”

He sighed and looked at the window.

”They are waiting for me to arrive tomorrow”, he said. ”They might get worried when I won’t come.”

”Don’t worry, I sent them a note about your situation”, Rufus reassured. ”Of course I’m prepared that they might appear here then.”

”I’m not sure”, Freed said shaking his head. ”They know that everything is okay now so they just wait. Sure, they might get disappointed because I can’t join them in their missions but…”

Freed sighed silently. Would they come? It’s not like he was in any danger anymore. And Laxus was on a mission so he wouldn’t know anyway. Bicks and Ever were perfectly capable of doing missions on their own so maybe they might do that? Bicks could go in the mission with Cana and Ever with Elfman.

”It seems like you’re doubting if your teammates might get worried about you”, Rufus noticed and Freed flinched. Was he that obvious?

”Well… It’s not like I don’t believe they might get worried, I know they will”, he said slightly blushing and looked other way. ”But they have so much in their own lives right now.”

”Oh? Could it be that you’re jealous that they have partners in their lives and you don’t?” Rufus chuckled and made Freed’s cheeks turn even more redder.

”I’m genuinely happy for them”, he said immediately and he was somewhat hurt that Rufus even hinted that he wouldn’t be. Of course he was happy for Bicks and Ever! He would be happy even if Laxus’ would find someone! He knew that all that would happen eventually. They would start their own lives, own families, own things and so on. But... Where would that leave him?

He sighed.

”But if I’m completely honest, I do feel sometimes like I’m left out”, he muttered. ”They do double-dates and even thought they do invite me I won’t go because I know I would just be third-wheel. Or fifth, if we are correct. They have even offered to arrange a blind date for me.”

”Really?” Rufus asked and he slightly frowned his eyebrows. Did Freed have someone he liked?

”I did once join them but I didn’t care that much about my date.”

”Was he maybe unpleasant?”

Freed looked at Rufus.

”Why are you assuming that my date was a male?” he asked.

”Oh, I’m sorry if I was wrong”, the memory mage said quickly. ”Was I wrong?”

”No... It’s not like I’m ashamed of being gay”, Freed said. ”I have always known that. And it seems like everyone can see it almost immediately anyway.”

”How did your friends react to that?”

”I was maybe sixteen when I told them, they didn’t seem to be surprised even a little bit and they were okay with it. I remember that I was really relieved when I finally told them.”

”It can sometimes be really intimidating to be yourself when around your family”, Rufus smiled and he stood up. ”It feels like you’re betraying their trust if you suddenly reveal something big about your life that they didn’t already know”, he said and helped Freed to sit up and lean against the pillows.

”You’re absolutely right there”, Freed chuckled. ”But in the end it is always a good thing to tell them, no matter how it ends. Living in a lie and pain is just not worth it if family is not the kind that accepts you.”

”Exactly”, Rufus smiled and lifted the tray on Freed’s lap. ”Now you should eat”, he said and sat down.

He observed Freed when the greenette was eating. Of course he wouldn’t tell it for the rune mage but actually he had been asking around questions about Freed for a while already. It wasn’t like he was stalking him or anything, he just sometimes asked some little things when he encountered someone who might know something about the rune mage from Fairy Tail.

Of course he had also heard things he wasn’t quite happy to hear. There seemed to be a strong rumour around that Freed and that lightning dragon slayer, Laxus Dreyar, had something going on between them. There was also a rumour that Freed was actually dating Mirajane Strauss, but since Freed now said that he indeed was gay Rufus could happily forget that rumour.

There were so many rumours around the mysterious rune mage, no one seemed to actually know much about him. In some odd way that made Rufus sad. Was Freed just that private or was there no-one to actually ask him directly what was going on in that beautiful head of his?

”Do you like Laxus?” Rufus' lips asked before his usually sharp brain could stop them.

Freed was stunned by the sudden question and the fork that was halfway to his open mouth stopped.

”W-what?” he finally stuttered when he found his voice again. Why did Rufus suddenly ask something like that?!

”I’m just a little bit curious”, the memory mage said. ”I have heard rumours like that. Are you guys dating?”

”No!” Freed denied quickly his cheeks burning red.

”Really? But you do like him?” Rufus asked and greenette stayed silent. ”Guess that answers that”, Rufus huffed.

”It’s not like I’m going to do something about it”, Freed muttered and put the tray aside. ”I just don’t believe Laxus is gay. And I don’t even know if I really like him that way. I would never risk our friendship if I weren't absolutely sure it would work out.”

”Oh?” Rufus said. Now this was interesting.

”I do admire Laxus and I do love him, just like I also love Evergreen and Bickslow. But I don’t know if my love is romantic love towards him. I have never experienced something like that so it is kinda confusing.”

”You haven’t?” Rufus asked and now he was surprised. Freed had never loved anyone in a romantic way before? Was Freed that picky with his partners or just not interested at all about dating?

”No. Actually it has been only recently that I have started to think about something like that”, Freed sighed looking at the window. Sun was setting already. ”Since Ever started to date Elfman and Bickslow is hanging out with Cana. I’m sure Laxus will also find someone soon. They will start their own lives and then we will see each others only when on missions. I’m happy for them and I will support them in any way I can, but… For me, it will also be lonely”, Freed confessed with sad smile.

”Why is that?” Rufus asked.

”I don’t know what to do with all the free time I have”, Freed said. Why was he telling all this to Rufus? He probably sounded like some whiny brat who selfishly wanted to keep his friends all by himself. Maybe he really was acting like that…

He groaned annoyed and rubbed his face with his hand.

“Dear lord, I'm so pathetic”, he said with self-loathing voice. “My friends who are practically my family are living happiest times of their lives and I'm only thinking about myself! How can I be that selfish?”

“You're not selfish, Freed”, Rufus reassured. “Things just are changing and sometimes changes can be quite difficult.”

“No, these changes shouldn't be difficult. I'm acting like a total idiot.”

“You know, sometimes loneliness can make even the wisest person act foolishly”, Rufus told and Freed put down his hand from his face to look at the blond. “It's true, I'm not just saying it to make you feel better. Loneliness is a frightening state. It might affect differently depending the situation. It can be sorrowful and agonising quickly or maybe it will built up slowly and you're starting to doubt everything little by little. Even your dearest friends and family.”

“That doesn't change the fact that my behaviour is childish”, Freed sighed.

“Do you think that is the worst thing that could happen when feeling lonely? I think there are much worse options.”

“You might be right... But I really need to get a hold of myself”, the swordsman decided. “I can't continue like this. It only makes things worse. I should just find something to keep myself busy with like some research or a long-lasting mission.”

”But not a boyfriend?” Rufus asked slightly smirking. Freed seemed confused. ”In a way, a boyfriend could be both of those things you suggested.”

”I guess”, Freed chuckled. ”I don’t know. I have never had a boyfriend. I have never dated anyone.”

”You really should start dating someone”, Rufus purred softly. ”It could help you greatly. Who says that you can't have your own life and family yourself?”

”I guess I should consider it when I’m back to Magnolia. And finding a man interesting enough to date could take some time.”

Ouch. That hurt, but Rufus said nothing to that.

”It can be challenging but worth it”, he smiled. ”And sometimes your significant other might be closer than you even realise. It’s like your nose, your eyes see it all the time but your brain decides to ignore it because it’s too close so you won’t see it if you don’t actually pay attention to it.”

”That was a weird parable but I get it”, Freed laughed. ”I don’t know if there is anyone for me in the Fairy Tail… As far as I know, I’m the only one who is gay. Well who knows about Max but he isn’t exactly my type. Or I might not be his type…” he wondered. Max really liked brooms.

Rufus sighed to himself silently. Well, at least he got Freed to consider dating that was enough. For now. And Freed couldn’t go out so he didn’t need to worry that he might find someone immediately. 

”Well, you have time to think about it”, he smiled and stood up taking the tray. ”Now you should rest more. Soon you can get up from the bed but only for short periods at a time.”

”That is good to hear”, Freed smiled and laid down on the mattress.

”And don’t think too much yet, you should just rest”, Rufus smirked and gently poked Freed’s nose making the rune mage blush. ”Everything will be alright and you will not end up as a lonely man with ten cats or something similar”, Rufus assured. ”I will make sure of it”, he chuckled and stepped out of the room.

Freed didn’t know what to say. But he smiled and closed his eyes. Rufus was actually a really nice person and it was easy to talk with him. He was also smart and obviously liked books too. In his mind Freed wondered what kind of books Rufus might read usually and he started to drift to sleep.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Freed woke up early in the morning and he took the medicine that was already waiting for him in his night stand. Then he got up and took a shower since he was finally able to move more.

He had now stayed at Rufus’ house for four days. He had spoken with his team through Rufus’ communicator lacrima and reassured them that he was okay. He was a little bit happy when Ever and Bicks offered that they would arrive at the town with the next train but Freed said it was not necessary. He would be back at the Guild as soon as he could travel again.

Freed brushed his hair and tied it up in a high pony tail, then he took the clothes Rufus had lend him. Apparently his own clothes had been so badly torn and covered with blood they could not be saved. Only his coat was in a good enough shape that it could be repaired with good tailoring magic.

Freed dressed up, feeling himself a little bit foolish wearing jogging pants and a red t-shirt. But he had to admit they were comfortable. Guess that was the reason why Rufus gave him precisely these clothes.

After he was ready, Freed finally stepped outside his room. He had to use a cane since his leg wasn’t still recovered enough for him to walk normally. His arm was resting in a sling and he jolted time to time when he felt sharp pain on his side. If only these wounds could be healed with magic he would be already heading back to Magnolia. But two days ago when Sabertooth’s healer came to visit she said they couldn’t do anything else than just wait and make sure his wounds wouldn’t become inflamed. And of course he had to take his medicine so the poison would fade from his body eventually.

The swordsman looked around in the hallway. This house really was big. Not a mansion but still big. There were lots of beautiful paintings and statues. Freed smiled as he peeked in the living room. Rufus’ taste could be seen everywhere, there was not a single thing that was out of place.

How many floors did this house have? At least three since he found the big and showy stairway and they lead up and down. His room was on the second floor. He wondered if Rufus’ bedroom was on the third floor.

Freed blushed. Why was he thinking where Rufus’ bedroom was? It was not something he needed to know, it was Rufus’ private area! He had no right to go pry there.

But it wouldn’t be bad if he just peeked what kind of a floor third floor was, right? Rufus said that he could look around if he wanted and he still didn’t know where the library was. It might be in the third floor...

Finally Freed put his hand on the handrail and stepped on the first step. Immediately there were pain and burning in his leg and he gritted his teeth. Obviously his leg was not healed enough to walk freely in the stairs… But he would not give up.

With determination he took another step and inhaled sharply. After fifth step he groaned and he had to stop, panting heavily. He was already sweating and his knuckles were white because of the strong grip of the handrail. Maybe this was not a good idea after all…

”What are you doing?”

Freed snapped his gaze to the top of the stairs and he saw Rufus standing there in his red morning gown.

”I was curious about the third floor”, Freed said and was still panting slightly. ”But it seems like I overestimated my condition…”

Rufus sighed and stepped down beside Freed.

”You’re going to torn your stitches at this rate”, he scolded softly.

”I was looking for the library.”

”It is here in the second floor”, Rufus chuckled. ”Maybe you were actually looking for me?” he teased purring softly and Freed blushed. ”I would rather wake up you by my side than hearing you grunt here on the stairway”, blond smirked.

”I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up”, Freed apologized quickly making Rufus sigh to himself silently. He gave a hint after hint but the rune mage was still as oblivious as ever. But he wouldn't give up.

”It’s alright, I always sleep lightly and my hearing is quite good. Not dragon slayer good but still. Now let’s get you down before you fall”, Rufus smiled.

Freed was ready to take support from Rufus but suddenly he was yanked up in the other mage’s arms.

”R-Rufus!” he protested. Rufus was much more stronger than he looked! Wait what? Why was he this much impressed by that?

”This way you won’t hurt yourself more”, Rufus chuckled and he stepped the last steps down the stairs. ”So you wanted to go to the library?” he asked and kept walking Freed still on his arms.

”Y-yes, but I can walk”, Freed assured. ”Put me down, Rufus.”

”Hmm… No”, Rufus just hummed happily.

Library was just behind the next corner. It had big doors that were open and Freed felt now stupid because he didn’t notice it before. Finally Rufus let go of him so he could stand on his own feet, sneering when his leg was burning again.

”You should lay down or at least sit somewhere”, the memory mage suggested. ”There is a nice big couch next to the fireplace.”

”Thank you”, Freed muttered and his cheeks were still slightly pink.

”I will make us breakfast, we can eat here”, Rufus said. ”But don’t go climbing on stairs again while I’m gone, I don’t want you to get hurt”, he purred and his slender finger brushed Freed’s red cheek before he headed towards the kitchen.

Freed was really confused again. Rufus was being so nice to him but why? He had a feeling he was missing something important...

Freed limped towards the couch and looked around. This library was magnificent! It was two-storey high and filled with shelves that were full of books. The couch was comfy, soft and seemed like it had been chosen because it certainly looked like a nice place to take a nap if you were tired.

The rune mage sat down and smiled. Rufus clearly knew how to choose his furniture. He looked around more and noticed the large mahogany table. It was filled with papers, books, maps and so on. Was Rufus doing some research about something?

Curious again Freed stood up carefully and limped towards the large table. He didn’t touch anything but he studied what he could see. It seemed that these had something to do with those hunters.

”I hope you like porridge”, Rufus said when he walked inside the library carrying a tray with two plates and drinks. ”Oh, you found my research”, he said as he put the tray on the coffee table.

”I didn’t mean to pry”, Freed said. ”I only looked, I didn’t touch anything.”

”It’s okay, you have every right to know everything you can about those hunters since you have been actually attacked by them. I have tried my best to find anything at all about those hunters but it seems like there are no clues whatsoever about who they are and why they are doing this.”

”I just thought something”, Freed said looking back to the sheets.

”Yes?” Rufus asked as he walked next to Freed.

”When that man attacked he seemed to be surprised that I was a rune mage”, greenette mumbled. ”He said something about how lucky he was.”

”He was going to capture you and they use mages for something”, Rufus said. ”Maybe they have a competition of who will capture most mages with rare magic.”

”I thought that too”, Freed nodded. ”That would mean they don’t use mages themselves, they are just collecting them for someone. Maybe they get money depending what kind of a magic the mage uses and how strong they are.”

”That does make sense”, Rufus said. ”And who knows how many mages they need. With your magic, you must be a quite nice sum of money for them.”

”I don’t know about that”, Freed laughed shaking his head. ”I can’t say I have encountered that many memory mages either”, he grinned looking at Rufus who chuckled.

”We both have rather rare magic”, the masked mage agreed.

”I’m more worried about the dragon slayers”, Freed said as they returned back to the couch. ”Have Master Sting informed other guilds about this?”

”Yes, six days ago when we heard about the seventeenth attack and it was not near our town so we knew it was not something that was a grudge against the Sabertooth, but something that included other mages also. They probably just started from here.”

Six days. That was when Freed was still on his solo mission, no wonder he hadn’t heard about this yet. Did Laxus know? What if something happened? He was in a solo mission too, what if those hunters attacked him? Yes, he knew that the lightning dragon slayer was insanely powerful but if all the hunters used that poison…

Rufus looked at his guest who was deep in his thoughts. Freed must be really worried about his friends.

”We will solve this and we will stop those attacks”, Rufus assured and he gently put his hand on top of Freed’s hand, squeezing slightly. ”We will keep our families safe.”

”Yes, you’re right”, Freed smiled as he snapped back from his thoughts. ”But it is not an easy task to not worry about the people who are most dear to you.”

”I know. We just have to try. Come on, let’s eat before our breakfast gets cold”, Rufus smiled. ”Nobody likes to eat cold porridge.”

“I have meant to ask you something for a while”, Freed said and took his plate.

“Oh? I will gladly answer at any questions you have”, the memory mage smiled. Maybe Freed finally noticed?

“What happened to that mage hunter?” greenette asked looking at Rufus and he got confused when blond dropped his head for a moment looking disappointed. “How did you and Orga fought him off?”

“We managed to surprise him since he was occupied trying to catch you”, Rufus explained. “His poisoned traps were already in use so we could attack. But he got away, though with injuries. It was the only time we were really close to catch one of those hunters so we could get some information, but we really needed to get you to our healer. You were bleeding badly.”

“If only I weren't that careless”, Freed sighed.

“Now now, dear”, Rufus chuckled and he really enjoyed how Freed's cheeks again slightly turned red. He looked so adorable. “Remember that even the most powerful mages sometimes make mistakes. You can't stay alert all the times so don't be so hard on yourself. Everything is now alright.”

“Maybe you're right.”

“You know I'm right, darling.”

They started to eat and Freed thought about it more. He wanted to find that mage hunter with the big grey mane. He wanted to help find out who was behind all this and why they were acting here, near Sabertooth. It was the at least he could do after all the help he got from Rufus.

Freed glanced at the memory mage from the corner of his eye. Rufus was really kind. He was a good friend. But why did Freed have this funny feeling? Did he start to like the blond more than just a friend? He should remember not to think like that! After all his help, Freed would not want to make Rufus feel uncomfortable because his stupid little feelings. His feelings would fade, it was just a mild crush because Rufus was being so friendly and because he teased him.

 

After the dinner they stayed in the library. Freed learned that Rufus was just like him when it came to the books, he read everything and always treated his books with respect.

For couple of hours they just talked and read books. At some point, Freed wasn’t sure when, he started to get sleepy and he just simply fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up next time he felt warm fingers caressing his cheek again. He liked this odd dream when he wasn’t sure if he was still asleep or not. It felt so nice when the fingertips moved slowly, massaging slightly his skin and making him feel relaxed. But just like every time when he woke up, those fingers disappeared in the moment when he moved a little. Then he forgot about that dream until he would see it again.

 


	4. Chapter 4

On the fifth day Freed got up early like he always did and stepped outside his room after the shower and dressing up. Because of the sudden moving around yesterday his leg was aching more today, but he decided not to care about it. He needed to get up from the bed or he would never heal properly.

With difficulties he finally made his way to the first floor and looked around. Kitchen should be somewhere around here. Today he would be the one to make the breakfast. He absolutely needed to do something to make himself useful or he would go insane.

The kitchen was big and Freed smiled when he saw how clean and well organized it was. Now this was a real kitchen! Who wouldn’t want to make food here?

Greenette took off the sling around his neck that was supporting his arm and put it on the table. He could use his arm if he was careful, so he started to look around. After searching he found what he needed and put all the ingredients on the table near  the glass bowl and a whisk. Then he started to make pancake batter, humming at the same time like he usually did.

After the batter was ready he grabbed the pan and put it on the stove. This was going nicely, he could move almost normally when he just remembered not to take too swift steps or try to lift something too heavy.

But he completely forgot about his side that was patched up well and supported, but it was still painfull if something hit it. And when he took the bowl in his hands and turned, he bumped his side against the corner of the table. Freed inhaled sharply and maybe he let out a cry he wasn’t sure. The pain was so bad for a moment he saw stars and it took a moment for him to realise he had collapsed on the floor. Oh god that hurt like hell! He hissed in pain and grabbed his arm around his waist like that would help in any way.

Freed finally woke up from his pain when he felt hands that supported him as he was sitting on the floor. Hands grabbed his shirt that was now covered with batter and pulled it off with one swift move.

”Don’t move”, Rufus ordered when Freed opened his eyes finally. ”There are glass shards around the floor”, blond explained and he leaned closer to check Freed’s side. ”I don't see any blood but we still need to check your wound properly if it opened again.”

”I did not mean to do that”, Freed panted and finally he was starting to get used to the pain. ”I was starting to make pancakes but then I apparently bumped on the corner of the table…”

”We need to get you back to bed”, Rufus said and he gently helped the rune mage to stand up and then sit down on the nearest chair. ”Honestly, in a moment when I leave you alone you do something you shouldn't. Maybe I should take you to my bedroom so I can keep an eye on you”, he smirked.

“Eh? I-I don't believe that is necessary”, Freed stuttered.

“What a shame. Now let's take a look at that wound”, Rufus said and he gently started to unwrap the bandages.

“I'm sorry about the mess”, Freed muttered ashamed.

“It's alright”, Rufus purred. “But you need a shower”, he chuckled and Freed realised there were batter even in his hair. He hissed slightly when Rufus carefully removed the patch that was on the wound under the bandages.

“You're lucky, this doesn't seem that bad”, Rufus said. “Stitches are not torn. But it will probably hurt the rest of the day so after the shower you should stay in the bed.”

“That might be the best idea”, Freed sighed.

“That IS the best idea”, Rufus said. “Can you stand on your own?”

Freed stood up and grunted in pain. It was really hard to stand up straight.

“That is no good, you might fall”, blond said. “It's better if I help you.” He would do that gladly.

“I-I will be alright”, Freed said quickly his cheeks burning red.

“No you won't, I don't want you to hurt yourself even more. But your guestroom bathroom is too small for both of us, so I will take you to my bathroom”, Rufus said and his smile was friendly and happy, but it also had a mischievous hint that Freed did not notice.

“That really is not necessary -” greenette started and yelped when he was lifted up in Rufus' arms. “You really don't need to do that”, greenette assured. "This is kinda embarrassing..."

“Maybe so but walking won't do any good for you now”, Rufus said and he carefully stepped over the glass shards and batter that had splashed all over the surfaces.

They arrived at the third floor and Freed looked around. The master bedroom was big and beautiful, Rufus had luxurious large bed with curtains and silk sheets.

“Okay, so wait here”, blond said and he seated Freed at the edge of his bed. “I will get you a change of clothes ready and a towel.”

Freed just nodded, since he was still too confused to even answer anything. He just let his gaze to wander around the room. Rufus had lots of books on his nightstand...

“I have wondered one thing for a while”, he said when Rufus returned.

“What is it?” he asked putting the clothes on the bed.

“This house is really big, do you keep it clean all by yourself?”

“No, I have a charlady”, Rufus smiled helping Freed to take of rest of the bandages from his arm and leg. Wounds were still really bad looking but they were healing. “And three maids. They are at the vacation right now for a week, but they will return soon. I know how to keep myself alive and how to clean if I have to so I give them longer vacations sometimes."

“Oh”, Freed muttered. Wow, Rufus even had servants and all. It was like he was some kind of a nobleman.

“It makes things easier for me”, blond smiled and he grabbed Freed's pants.

“W-what are you doing?” Freed asked startled.

“You can't go to the shower with pants on, can you?”

“Oh, right... I can take them off by myself”, Freed said and Rufus backed off. “Umm...” the swordsman said when Rufus made no signs to leave or even turn around.

“No need to be shy”, Rufus chuckled. “I'm going to help you to the shower anyway.”

“I guess you're right”, Freed sighed.

He got undressed and put the towel around him. Rufus took his batter stained clothes and put them in the laundry basket, then he helped Freed on the shower. Freed blushed when Rufus just casually took off his own clothes and stepped in the shower with him. In his mind he had to admit one thing: Rufus really was handsome. With or without clothes. But quickly he shooed those thoughts out of his mind.

“Let's clean that beautiful green hair of yours”, blond purred helping Freed to sit on a stool and he turned the shower on. “Be careful with your wounds.”

“I will”, Freed nodded.

With delicate touch Rufus started to wash Freed's hair, careful not to pull any strands loose. Freed closed his eyes and just enjoyed the long fingers caressing his hair and massaging his scalp. He didn't even realize he let out a small moan, completely lost in relaxation.

“You really enjoy when someone washes your hair for you?” Rufus chuckled. He understood that perfectly.

“Yes”, Freed hummed. “That feels really good.”

“I'm glad”, Rufus purred and his fingers gently washed the green hair until they were clean from the batter.

Then his fingers caressed Freed's neck, slowly moving to massage his shoulders making Freed groan.

“You're really good at massaging”, he complimented.

“Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying”, Rufus smiled and he took a bottle of soap. “I will wash your back for you.”

“That would be really nice, thank you”, Freed smiled.

Rufus helped him to wash and then he gave his shoulder some more massaging and Freed felt like he could fall asleep. 

“I'm really sad that I have to say this but maybe I should help you out now. Your wounds wouldn't like it if you were here too long.”

“That might be the right decision”, Freed nodded and he was actually really disappointed. Rufus' massaging felt really good.

After Rufus quickly cleaned himself they dried their hair and stepped outside. Freed put the boxers on and Rufus just kept his bathrobe on, then the memory mage helped Freed to sit down on the bed.

“Let's put the bandages back now”, Rufus said and Freed nodded.

After that Freed put on a pajama Rufus had brought for him. It was soft, warm and felt really good against his skin. Rufus really liked luxurious stuff.

“You should just stay here”, Rufus smiled.

“Here? Are you sure? This is your bedroom”, Freed said. “I can sleep in the guestroom, it is really comfortable there.”

“No, you can stay here”, Rufus chuckled and gently he pushed Freed down on the bed. Oh wow, these pillows felt like clouds Freed noticed. “It's better that you won't walk around now that your wound was almost ripped open. You need rest”, blond said and pulled the blanket over Freed. “I'll stay after I've made us some breakfast and keep you company so I can keep an eye on you.”

“You really don't need to do all this”, Freed chuckled. “But I'm really grateful.”

“I know, dear. Now I will go clean the kitchen and make some breakfast”, Rufus said. “You promise me that you won't get up while I'm gone. If you want something to read there are books on the nightstand. If you're thirsty, there is also a jug filled with water and a glass. So what you will not do?”

“Get up from the bed”, Freed said with amusement.

“That's right”, Rufus grinned and poked the swordsman's nose slightly. “Just rest”, he ordered and stepped outside of the room.

 

Rufus came back some times later and chuckled when he saw Freed sleeping soundly in his bed. What an adorable sight. Green hair was spread all around the pillows and he had pulled the blanket up to his nose.

He smiled and put the tray silently on the table. Now he was glad that he had made sandwiches, they wouldn't go bad even if he let his cute rune mage sleep a while. He just sat down beside the bed and took one of his books. Maybe Freed hadn't yet noticed his feelings but he still felt like he was doing at least some progress.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Like he always did, Freed woke up early in the morning. It was like he had an alarm inside him that went off the second it was 7 o'clock in the morning. He yawned and stretched slightly, then he realized there were something against his back.

He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. Rufus was sleeping behind him his hands around the rune mage's chest. Freed blinked and his sleepy thoughts tried to process this moment. He was sleeping with Rufus in the same bed. Rufus was cuddling against him, his face buried in Freed's green hair on his neck.

And it felt so comfortable. Freed blushed deeply and looked ahead. It really was so nice to wake up with someone snuggling against him and he liked to hear how Rufus was breathing slowly and relaxed. Greenette carefully turned his head again to look at Rufus' face. He was wearing a sleep mask. Seriously, what was with Rufus and masks?

“Good morning dear”, he heard a sleepy chuckle that made him jolt. “I'm sorry if I startled you.”

“Um... Good morning”, Freed said. “I thought you were still asleep.”

“As I said before I'm a light sleeper”, Rufus smiled. “But it seems like you're an early riser”, he yawned and just snuggled his face better against the green hair and tightened his grip, making Freed confused. He thought that Rufus might just be a cuddly sleeper but why didn't he move when he woke up?

“It seems that I fell asleep at the evening and forgot to move back to my guest room”, Freed said. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. This is really nice”, Rufus hummed smiling. “I'm tired of waking up alone every morning. I really enjoy your company, Freed”, he smiled.

“You're also really nice company, Rufus”, Freed chuckled. “I should get up now that I'm awake.”

“Don't get up yet”, Rufus groaned and didn't let go. “We can stay in the bed and maybe sleep some more. Let's pretend we are married.”

“That's ridiculous, Rufus”, Freed laughed. “Besides, did you forget that Magaidh said she would visit here today to check out the wounds?”

“I never forget anything if I don't decide so”, Rufus muttered. “Fine, I guess there is no other choice but to get up”, he groaned annoyed and his other arm let go of Freed so he could remove the sleep mask.

For a moment he squinted his green eyes.

“It's only seven?” he said when he finally could see the clock on the night stand. “You really do wake up early. I don't believe Magaidh will visit before noon, she never wakes up earlier than that. We could have slept at least at ten without any problems.”

“You can continue sleeping if you want”, Freed assured. “I can do the breakfast.”

“And repeat what happened yesterday? No, I will get up also and do the breakfast for us”, Rufus chuckled.

They sat up and Freed sneered slightly.

“Does it still hurt?” Rufus asked worried.

“Somewhat”, the swordsman nodded. “But it will fade.”

“I'll go fetch your medicine”, Rufus said and he stood up taking his dressing gown. “I left you clothes you can wear today, they are on the chair”, he smiled and left the room.

Freed carefully stood up and took the clothes, black pants and a collar shirt. Then he took his cane and limped to the door just to get it slammed onto his face.

“Rufus? Are you awake yet?” he heard new voice grumble.

“Rufus is not here”, Freed said and wiped his nose. Slightly bloody but his nose was still where it should be.

“Oh, morning Freed”, Orga said. “Sorry about that.”

“It's alright, accidents happen”, Freed assured.

“So where is Rufus?”

“He should be right back.”

Silence landed when two mages waited for Rufus to return. It was an odd silence, they didn't know what to say to each other. Though, Freed remembered Orga being a quiet person from the start.

“So you're sleeping with Rufus?” the green maned mage suddenly asked with small chuckle, making Freed turn red from his face.

“It's not like that”, Freed stuttered quickly. “I just happened to fall asleep here last night, I did not mean to -”

“Alright, alright, I get it”, Orga said with amusement in his voice. “I was just wondering, Rufus can be quite persuasive if he really wants. And if he wants something, he won't stop until he gets it. And when he gets what he wants, he won't never let go of it until he himself decides to do so.”

“He seems to be a rather... strong-willed man.”

“You have no idea. He might not look that strong but he will totally own your ass if you're not really careful”, Orga said with a small laugh. “And he is as sly as a fox and will use tricks if necessary.”

“Orga, you're scaring him”, Rufus chuckled as he opened the door to the room. “I'm not that horrible person, at least not to those who I consider dear to me.”

“Just made sure your new _friend_ knows what to expect”, Orga smirked.

“Don't listen to him”, Rufus smiled to Freed. “Here's your medicine”, he said and gave Freed a glass.

“Thank you”, Greenette said and gulped the liquor down with wince.

“Is it that bad?” Orga chortled.

“It's horrible”, Freed coughed.

“But it will help”, Rufus said.

“Oh, I didn’t remember to thank you”, Freed noticed looking at Orga and he bowed his head. “Thank you for all your help, I’m truly grateful that you and Rufus were there to help me when I couldn’t help myself.”

“That’s alright”, Orga smiled. “Of course we would help you fairies. And since Rufus has had his eyes on –“

“I THINK we should head downstairs to the kitchen”, Rufus interrupted with loud and clear voice, but his friendly smile never disappeared from his lips. In its own way it was kinda scary. Somehow it reminded Freed about Mirajane. “Orga, will you join us for breakfast?”

“Uh… Sure, why not”, Orga said and he could guess that Rufus has yet mentioned nothing to Freed about his feelings. And it would most definitely be a good idea to keep his mouth shut about it too.

Freed and Orga waited near the stairs while Rufus changed his clothes and then they headed downstairs. Then blond made them some breakfast and they sat down in the dining room to eat.

“So why are you here this early, Orga?” Rufus asked curiously.

“Sting and Rogue were curious how Freed is doing. They suggested you guys should visit the Guild when Freed is feeling better”, Orga explained. “And we also heard something about those mage hunters.”

Freed and Rufus both looked at Orga immediately.

“What did you hear?” Freed asked. “Was it the same man who attacked me?”

“Not sure about that”, Orga shrugged. “We only heard that two of those bastards were seen near here.”

“Here?” Rufus winced.

“Yeah. You guys should be really careful.”

“How can you be sure they were mage hunters?” Freed asked. “I don’t believe they carry nameplates…”

“Because they were talking to each other. Though, who heard this is an old drunkard so we are not absolutely sure this is all true but he said he heard about hunting down mages and he heard they talked about some certain mage. And since they were around here we thought they might be after Freed.”

“I hate to admit it but right now I’m an easy catch for them”, Freed muttered and just poked his bacon on the plate. “Did he describe those men in any way?”

“Just that the other one was really tall and the other one was average sized. That’s all we got since that drunkard was too scared and he run away.”

“Even this much is quite helpful”, Rufus said. “Now they can’t surprise us that easily.”

“But if they still have that poison then magic will not help us”, Freed reminded.

“It is still possible that they can’t use that in every case, just like that hunter who attacked you. He had only those five traps and nothing more. Without his poison he is just a normal man and we can catch him.”

“Sting has been thinking about calling everyone to the Guild”, Orga said. “It might be more safe if we are all in the same building since there are enough rooms for everyone if we share.”

“I probably should try to travel back to Magnolia in that case”, Freed said.

“Absolutely not”, Rufus refused without hesitation. “That is out of the question. They might attack you while on the train and with your condition you can’t fight back.”

“It wouldn’t feel right for me to take space from your Guild”, Freed reasoned.

“Then we will stay in my house. This or that you cannot travel yet.”

“You can’t change his mind if he talks like that”, Orga chuckled to Freed. “It’s easier to just nod and do what he says. Don’t worry, I’m sure everyone is okay with you staying with us for a while.”

“If you are sure…” Freed mumbled.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magaidh is my own character I created for this fanfic. Thank you for your comments and Kudos! ^^

After the breakfast Orga headed back to the Sabertooth. Freed sat on the living room and even though he tried not to be too worried he glanced at the windows for time to time. Was there someone watching right now? Were they watching at the night while they were sleeping? Would they attack with more force?

“Don’t worry”, Rufus suddenly said and Freed snapped out of his thoughts. “They might have poison that destroys magic but they can’t do everything with it. I’m sure they can only use little amounts of that poison at a time so we should be alright here. I have my own defence systems here”, blond chuckled and he sat on the couch next to Freed.

“Really?” the swordsman asked surprised.

“Of course, I have one really useful spell I can use. They can of course use that poison against it but when they do we will be alarmed that they are approaching.”

“And what were you thinking about doing then?” Freed asked lifting his eyebrow.

“Just trust me, dear”, Rufus chuckled. “You have no idea what kind of spells I have deep inside my memories, just waiting for me to use them. I’ll use all of them if I have to.”

“I’m genuinely sorry that I can’t do anything to help you”, Freed apologized. “Not before my arm is healed enough so I can move it normally, then I can at least use my sword again.”

“Don’t you apologize, there is no need for that. This is not your fault. I decided to take care of you so I shall do that no matter what”, Rufus smirked.

“I’m grateful”, Freed chuckled. “You are a strange man, Rufus.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Before this incident we haven’t even talked to each other, yet still you are ready to go this far to help me. Don’t take me wrong, by saying strange I don’t mean anything bad. You are a good man, Rufus, and a really good friend”, Freed smiled.

Rufus froze for a second. Did Freed just friend zone him? He wondered if Freed could truly not see the come hither in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

Quickly he returned back to normal and smiled softly like he always did.

“I help you because I want to”, he said. “I really do. I saw you couple of times when we were at the Grand Magic Games, but I never got a good chance to introduce myself.”

“Well, better late than never”, Freed chuckled and Rufus nodded.

“Definitely”, the memory mage smiled. Even at the time when they had their differences with Fairy Tail, Rufus had noticed Freed among them and for a moment he had considered to suggest greenette to join Sabertooth. But he wasn't stupid, he knew it would be probably impossible to convince anyone from Fairy Tail to leave their Guild.

But after that he noticed that he was thinking about Freed more often, until it was painful and no matter what he did he just couldn't forget that green haired rune mage from Fairy Tail. There were no magic that could help him with his aching pain in his heart when he knew he couldn't have Freed.

Now... Here he was. Sitting next to him on his couch, in his home. He was giving hints of his feelings yet Freed didn't seem to understand. Was he not interested of him? Or just that dense? To be honest Freed actually seemed like a guy who was not good at these kind of things. Should he just be plain clear and tell him about his feelings? Would Freed get scared and think that was the only reason why he took care of him, so Freed would feel obliged to answer his feelings after all this?

Rufus sighed silently to himself. He most certainly didn't want Freed to think like that. He would never ask anything in return. Maybe he really should tell Freed about his feelings straightforward... And make sure Freed understood that he had every right to turn him down if he wanted and he was not in debt. He would always help Freed no matter what if he needed help.

"Freed", Rufus finally said and cleared his throat a little. Suddenly he was really nervous and that was something he rarely experienced. "I have been meant to talk with you about one thing for a while."

"Oh", Freed said surprised. "Alright. What is it? Can I help you with anything?"

"No no, it's not something like that", Rufus assured. "It is... Something really complicated even though it should be really simple", he explained and Freed was confused. This was the first time he saw Rufus actually looking nervous. He was not his usual confident himself and it worried him.

"Well, maybe talking about it would help", Freed said with encouraging smile. "Let's try to solve that together."

"Yes", Rufus chuckled. "But... It's more like I need to tell you something. You just need to listen." And listen good, dammit. Maybe Freed would then finally understand.

"I will listen", Freed nodded. "What is it then?"

"You know, there is something I have been hiding from you for the whole time you've been here. I have tried to tell it but it seems like even I can't say it just like that no matter how confident I usually am... Maybe I just need to say it and then you can answer what you think, would that be okay?"

"Of course", Freed said. For some reason he was really nervous but also a little bit exited. He didn't even know what Rufus was about to say, but this situation was just so... What it was? Charged in some way? At least in a good way obviously.

Rufus smiled. He only needed to say it. How much he loved Freed. Freed might not love him back but at least then he knew he had told him and he could move on. Or... Maybe Freed would love him back and he could kiss those soft lips and finally caress his beautiful cheeks while he was awake.

"I really -"

" _What the fuck Rufus?!_ "

Rufus and Freed both almost dropped from the couch because of the sudden yelling.

"M-Magaidh", Rufus said looking at the door. No no no no! Why did it had to be this day when Magaidh was actually once up early?! Why couldn't she sleep at noon like she usually did?!

"I've been standing at the porch like fifteen minutes! Care to explain?" Magaidh said with dangerous voice. She was a small, slightly chubby woman with bronze coloured skin and wild curly pink hair.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't hear the doorbell", Rufus muttered.

"Sure doesn't sound like you're sorry. Do you want me to make you feel sorry?" Magaidh growled stepping in front of the couch. "Good morning Freed", she singed to the greenette.

"Good morning, Magaidh", Freed said with slightly nervous smile.

"So what were you two talking about? It must be something _really_ important since you couldn't take even a minute to let me in."

"It is something we will continue once we are alone again", Rufus said.

"Ohh? Did I interrupt the moment?" Magaidh teased and giggled, making Rufus annoyed and Freed blushed. "Well you can only blame yourself because you didn't let me in."

"We honestly did not hear the doorbell", Freed assured.

"Really? Rufus, your house is decayed."

"Just because of the broken doorbell?" Rufus grumbled crossing his arms.

"And because of that broken window."

"There are no broken windows anywhere", blond assured and then Magaidh stepped to the window.

Freed shivered when the nearest chair went through the big window with a loud crash and glass shards scattered all around the floor.

"That broken window", Magaidh said with a sweet smile.

"Oh, that one..." Rufus sighed.

"If you ever let me stand outside your fucking house fifteen minutes again I promise I will shatter your mind next time", Magaidh snarled. "I don't care if your stupid doorbell is broken. Are we clear?"

"I'm terribly sorry because of my behaviour", Rufus said lowering his head. "I should have paid more attention."

"Now that sounds more like an apology. Fix that doorbell, dumbass."

"I will, Magaidh."

"Good. Now Freed", Magaidh smiled. "How are we feeling today?"

"Good, thank you", Freed assured. He would not say a thing about yesterday or Magaidh probably would throw him through the window next because he was so clumsy. "Everything is fine."

"Really? So you did not cause anything to make your wounds worse?" Magaidh asked.

"Um..."

"Move aside you damn raccoon", Magaidh growled pushing the masked mage out of the couch.

Freed yelped when she grabbed his shirt's front and shoved him with great force to lie down on the couch. Seriously, Magaidh might be a tiny woman but she was one of the strongest Freed had ever encountered. Maybe even Erza would have troubles if they arm wrestled.

Magaidh pulled up Freed's shirt and with skilled fingers she unwrapped his bandages just like that.

"I knew something was wrong", the pink haired mage said. "You were so stiff. What did you idiot do? Didn't I tell you clearly enough you should be careful?"

"I'm really sorry, Magaidh", Freed apologized. "I was making breakfast yesterday and bumped on the corner of the table."

"Yesterday? And you didn't consider to inform me?"

"I... We... Um..." Freed stuttered not knowing what to say.

"These wounds can't be healed with magic like we usually would do", Magaidh reminded with harsh tone. "That is one really big problem with mages. Most are so used to being fixed just like that they forget how it feels when wounds have to heal with their own pace. You. Must. Be. Careful!" she yelled and Freed nodded quickly. "This takes time! You have Rufus here to spoil you so just keep your ass in the bed! Don't go dancing around the kitchen like some fucking pinball and bouncing into every corner you can find!"

"I understand", Freed promised. "I will rest."

"Oh would you look at that, seems like I finally managed to embed something in to that cabbage head of yours", Magaidh huffed. "Now I need to examine this wound and put new bandages on it", she said and fetched her bag from the door.

While Magaidh was going trough Freed's wounds, Rufus prepared and served some tea for them.

"I added some rum just like you like it", he said when he put the teacups on the coffee table.

"Good, thank you", Magaidh smiled wrapping bandages on Freed's hand. "Your arm's wounds are looking better, you won't need a sling anymore in two or three days."

"That is good to hear", Freed said. "What about my magic? Is the medicine working?"

Magaidh looked at Freed and now she seemed a little hesitant. Rufus noticed this and looked at Freed worried.

"Yes... And no", Magaidh said finally and it felt like someone dropped something icy in Freed's stomach. "I don't notice any improvements in your magic. Your condition overall is better and you’re healing, but your magic is not. Until now the medicine has worked for others but I don’t know why it is not working for you. It’s like your magic is just... gone."

"Gone?" Freed whispered shocked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know", Magaidh sighed shaking her head . "It must be because of the poison. If medicine isn't working and it’s not leaving your body, it just keeps eating your magic in a second it is created."

"But everything will still be back to normal if we just figure how to get rid of that poison?" Rufus asked frowning.

"Let's hope so", Magaidh said. "Who knows what might happen the more time that poison stays in Freed's body. It might even cause permanent damages to his magic."

"So... I might not ever be able to use my magic anymore?" Freed asked with shaky voice.

"That is possible... I'm really sorry, Freed", Magaidh said with surprisingly soft and caring tone. "I wish I could do more."

"We must find something to cure that poison!" Rufus shouted smacking his hands on the coffee table making the teacups clink. "There has to be something! Those hunters need mages for something so there must be some cure or else they would just end up with mages who can't use magic!"

"I know, Rufus", Magaidh snapped. "But your yelling isn't helping us. We have no idea what that poison is or how to cure it. I have discussed about it with Porlyusica and other healers and no-one has ever even heard about it.”

“We must capture one of those hunters”, Rufus growled. “We will squeeze every answer out of them what we need. I will even burn them slowly limb by limb if I have to.”

“You’re starting to sound brutal”, Magaidh said. “We don’t do something like that, if Master Sting heard that you would be in trouble”, she said. “But I understand why you would want to do that”, she huffed.

Freed was hardly listening anymore at this point. He was astonished and terrified. He… He might lose his magic altogether. What would he do then? He couldn’t stay at Fairy Tail after that. He would lose his home and family!

“I… I think I need some fresh air...” he muttered shakily and stood up, taking his cane.

“Alright”, Rufus said nodding. “Just be careful”, he said. Freed answered nothing, he just limped at the glass doors and stepped outside to the garden.

“So you haven’t told him yet?” Magaidh said looking at the memory mage. “If you had, he would be in your arms right now instead of being alone in the garden.”

“No… I was just about to tell him but then you ruined the moment”, Rufus muttered.

“As I said, it was your own fault. Don’t worry, give him some time then go to him and comfort him. Before you know it, you guys are kissing. That works every time I’m hunting ladies”, Magaidh grinned.

“I don’t believe Freed is the kind of a man who easily burdens others with his problems”, Rufus said. “But now he really needs someone to comfort him. He has healed well until now and then he has to hear something like that...”

“Yeah, I understand. It is really harsh… We can do nothing more than just hope for the best that the medicine might still start working.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Freed was not sure how long he sat on a bench in the garden. This was his first time here, and even if the trees and flowers were really beautiful despite it being late summer, he couldn’t enjoy the sight. He was too deep in his thoughts.

What could he do? What would happen if he really was going to lose his magic? He could still use his sword but… Without his magic he was just an ordinary swordsman. He couldn’t use his runes anymore... And if you weren’t a mage, you couldn’t belong in the mage guild. That was what scared him the most. Master Makarov and others would probably come up with something or say that it was okay for him to stay but he couldn’t do that. It would be against the rules and no matter what he wouldn’t break the rules.

Freed sighed. There would be no more missions with Laxus, Bickslow and Evergreen. No more spending nights in a tent together, no more fighting with whatever they were against at the time. No more fighting who could take the shower first when they returned from long mission and so on. Freed could of course live with his team still but he couldn’t join them on the missions.

He didn’t like it. Fairy Tail and everything in it was his whole life. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t that good friends yet with others, they were still his family. Only family he had ever had. If he couldn’t be part of it…

Freed felt tears in his eyes no matter how much he tried to fight against them. Crying wouldn’t help him! But he couldn’t stop it. Even a mere thought of Fairy Tail closing its doors before him was just too painful and tears dripped down his cheek.

“ _Shit_!” he shouted leaning on his knees and holding his head. How was he ever going to be able to explain everything to Laxus and the others? It felt like he had let everyone down! Why was he so careless with that hunter?!

The swordsman just sat there, sobbing because he couldn’t do nothing more. Right now it felt exactly like everything was falling apart in his life. Being lonely sometimes wasn’t nearly as painful as being forced to leave everything. If only he could heal, be back to Fairy Tail and everything would be just like only a week ago…

He had no idea what time it was when he suddenly felt a hand that touched softly his shoulder.

“Everything will be alright”, Rufus said sitting next to Freed. “We will figure something out.”

“Maybe”, Freed said and his voice was stuffy because of crying.

“We will, I promise”, Rufus assured. “I won’t leave you alone with this”, he said and put his arm around greenette’s shoulders and gently pulled him closer. Freed was too overwhelmed because all of this that he didn’t even care if this seemed odd to someone. It felt good for him so screw the others if there were someone watching, he just leaned his head against the crook of Rufus’ neck. It felt even better when Rufus put his head on top of his.

They just sat there in the silence, only hearing how sometimes a slight breeze made leafs in the bushes and trees to rustle.

“I have to leave Fairy Tail...” Freed finally muttered. “If I actually can’t use my magic never again.”

“I’m sure they won’t leave you just like that”, Rufus reassured. “They will do whatever they can so you can stay.”

“Maybe”, Freed said and he smiled sadly. “But rules are rules and one should not break them without a reason that could safe someone’s life.”

“It could safe your life”, Rufus smiled. “Isn’t that a reason good enough?”

“I will survive. It will be hard and lonely, but I will still survive.”

“I won’t let you be lonely”, Rufus said tightening his grip. “You can always stay with me.”

“Thank you for your kindness”, Freed smiled. “But I couldn’t possibly bother you more than I already have.”

“You won’t.”

“I’m sorry that I have bothered you with my complains before… I acted like a complete fool, whining when everything was actually just fine.”

“You were in pain”, Rufus said soothingly. “Was the reason big or small, it doesn’t change. Pain is not measured by the situation, was it as bad as something that happened a day, a week or even a year ago? It is how much burden it puts in your heart at the moment. By feeling bad about how yesterday you complained now seemingly little things is like you’re trying to put out a fire with a fan. It just doesn’t help.”

“I hear you”, Freed said slightly smiling. “It’s not like I don’t want to believe you… Right now it feels like I’m just too tired to believe...”

“I understand that. You still need rest, this week must have been really rough for you. We will find a way to make everything better.”

Again there were silence for a while. Freed was not crying anymore but he just wanted to stay there, leaning against Rufus. It felt so comfortable and calming.

“Rufus...”

“Yes?”

“Before Magaidh stormed in, you were going to tell me something. What was it?” Freed asked with curiosity. Rufus slightly bit his lip. He should just say it. Just say it you damn coward!

“Um… Well first I want you to know that you are not in any debt even if I’m taking care of you”, he said. Oh god, again he was lingering. “I do this because I want, I’m not waiting for anything in return.”

“O-okay...” Freed said.

“It is really important”, Rufus said with serious tone and Freed straightened himself looking at the masked mage. “I was going to tell you...” Rufus started but then his words just stopped. “Um… I really…” he stuttered. He never stuttered like this! He had never had this much problems to tell someone he liked them! Why was Freed so different from those others?

“If you can’t say it, can you maybe draw it or show it or something similar?” Freed suggested and Rufus looked at him.

“Yes… I can do that”, he finally said.

Freed waited what would happen and he froze when long fingers took a hold of his chin, lifting his head up. Wait… What? Rufus was so close, suddenly it felt like there were butterflies flying in his stomach! And he leaned even closer, he had so beautiful dark green eyes…

Before Freed even realised he had shut his own eyes. Only a second later he felt lips against his own. It was a soft kiss, really warm and calming yet still he could feel how his heart was pounding in his chest madly. For a moment Freed forgot everything else, he only felt Rufus’ lips and his hand on his chin. If he only could have paid more attention he would have noticed how Rufus’ fingers were slightly trembling, revealing how he too were experiencing those same things.

When Rufus pulled back it felt like it happened too soon. Now there were new moment for them to handle and Freed had no idea what he should say. He was again confused, but he felt… Actually really happy.

“So… What I wanted to tell you is that I love you, Freed”, Rufus murmured and his cheeks were actually reddened.

“Oh...” Freed said blinking, still a little bit flustered. “You… I mean… Oh!” he said when he finally understood everything what Rufus just said. Rufus loved him? That was… That was…

“I know it must be scary, someone who you have known less than a week suddenly saying something like that”, Rufus said quickly. “But… For me it hasn’t been only that week. It has been actually longer time.”

“It has?”

“Ever since the Grand Magic Games.”

“That long?” Freed asked surprised.

“Yes… Ever since I saw you first time there”, Rufus confessed with a tiny nod. “It is kinda ironic if you think about it”, he said with a small sad laugh. “My magic exists for memorizing and forgetting things, still I can’t forget you. Not my feelings towards you. I just can’t. Please, even if you say no to me, you should stay”, Rufus said looking at the swordsman. “Because it really is dangerous for you to go out now by yourself. I understand if you don’t love me, I will not throw you out. I didn’t take you here so you would feel indebted to answer to my feelings same way.”

“You told me that already”, Freed said. “You are… Kinda odd when you are that nervous”, he chuckled and hearing that laugh eased Rufus’ nervousness at least a little bit. “You’re nothing like your usual self.”

“I’m usually really good at hiding my nervousness”, Rufus said with amusement. He was so glad. Hearing Freed laughing was right now the most beautiful thing in the whole world. He would definitely memorise that laugh.

Freed smiled and looked at Rufus.

“It was nice to hear you say those words, Rufus”, he said. “But… I don’t know if I love you.”

“I understand”, Rufus said lowering his gaze. He should have known… The only thing, only person he wanted so badly in this world and he couldn’t have him… But he had to respect Freed’s choice.

“I mean, you’re right. I have known you only for six days”, Freed said. “I believe it takes more time for me to fall in love with someone. But I do like you, Rufus”, he confessed and blushed.

Rufus could hardly believe what he just heard and he raised his head looking at those magnificent turquoise eyes.

“You do?” he asked.

“Y-yes… I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought it would make you feel uncomfortable”, Freed explained. “Since I wasn’t absolutely sure if you were gay or even interested. I mean, Bickslow teases me all the time like you did and he’s definitely straight.”

“And you won’t risk a friendship if you are not absolutely sure it could work out”, Rufus smiled. “You said that before. So do you think this could work?” he asked with a glimpse of hope in his eyes.

“Well, I don’t see why it couldn’t”, Freed smiled. “Sure, everything can happen and it can never be guaranteed that everything will go well, but I believe this has a really good chance to actually work. But there are still some things we need to sort out.”

“Like how are we going to tell the others?” Rufus chuckled.

“That and how do we manage to see each other, we live in different towns. We belong to different guilds. I know it is not forbidden to date members from other guilds but it can still be challenging to find enough time so we can see each other.”

“I can visit Magnolia whenever I want”, Rufus assured. “When I’m not in a mission. It’s not that far, only an hour and a half with the train. Maybe I should rent a house from there”, he chuckled.

“You really are rich aren’t you?” Freed sighed. “That wouldn’t be very practical, renting a house when you can only visit there sometimes.”

“You could live there”, Rufus smiled and Freed jolted. “Then when I come to visit, we have our own space and peace. I know it would be probably impossible to ask you to leave Magnolia and live here so that is the best solution. And you shouldn’t leave Magnolia, you need your family right now.”

“Are you actually asking me to live with you even though just few minutes ago you told me first time that you love me?” Freed asked with amusement.

“There are even more absurd things people do when they are in love”, Rufus chuckled and he gently brushed Freed’s cheek with his fingers. “If that is how I can keep you for myself then I will do it.”

“It seems you’re back to your usual confident yourself”, Freed said.

“I have nothing to be afraid anymore”, Rufus purred. “I only need to make sure that your crush towards me will turn into love.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“Oh I know it won’t be easy, you are not that kind of a man, dear”, the memory mage chuckled. “You are careful and calculating man with an adamant common sense, because you don’t want to get hurt. Or that you might hurt the others. It will take some time to make you fall in love with me completely but I will do whatever it takes since you gave me a chance. If it’s renting a house from Magnolia or even traveling three hours in a train every single day, I don’t care.”

“Okay, now you’re starting to sound scary and obsessed”, Freed smirked.

“I’m just a man who is hopelessly in love”, Rufus smiled and Freed blushed when suddenly he just leaned to kiss him, this time more confident and boldly, yet it was still warm and loving. It felt really nice. “We have still time to think all this through. You can’t leave before Magaidh says it’s okay. We should go back inside”, Rufus smiled. “We didn’t even have any lunch. You need food so you can heal properly.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right.”

“You know I’m right, darling.”


	8. Chapter 8

In the next three days Freed couldn’t do nothing more than just be amazed of his new boyfriend he suddenly had. It was still odd, calling Rufus his boyfriend but he was starting to get used to it slowly. Rufus was so tender and caring, Freed was not used to it. Not that the Thunder Legion didn’t take care of each other, but… It was different with Rufus.

Their days didn’t change much, but they were constantly on alert if something might happen. Magaidh said it was okay for Freed to start using his hand more but he had to be careful and he could also walk in the stairs again without leaning against Rufus every time. The memory mage had also taken contact with his charlady and said they could extend their vacation with at least one week. Now when the house was not completely safe it was better not to bring them here.

It was evening and Freed was sitting on the bed reading a book, where else but Rufus’ own bedroom. The blond refused to let him go back to the guest room and he had brought all Freed’s stuff in there. Well he wasn’t going to complain, he enjoyed sleeping in this huge bed and it was really nice to go to sleep with Rufus and wake up in the morning next to him.

Freed raised his gaze from the book when the door opened and Rufus came into the room.

“I’ve got something for you”, the masked mage chuckled holding something behind his back.

“What? Don’t tell me you actually bought some gift”, Freed said putting his book away.

“I know you don’t want me to do that but I bet you’re going to love this”, Rufus smiled and he pulled out the red coat, cleaned and restored.

“When did you repair it?” Freed asked surprised and he stood up and took his old and faithful red coat. You couldn’t even see that it had been almost torn apart before. “It looks even better than when I bought it.”

“I have this good old friend who uses tailoring magic”, Rufus smiled and he was very pleased to see Freed so happy. “He promised to repair your coat but it took a little while so it would be perfect. I also paid that he would strengthen the fabric so now it shouldn’t be that easy to tear apart. It should also endure water and fire. Not perfectly of course but a little bit better.”

“That’s amazing”, Freed admired looking at his coat. “It’s like it has been just bought. But you do know I’m going to say there was no need for you to do this?” he said looking at the memory mage who chuckled.

“I know”, he smirked wrapping his arms around Freed. “But I wanted to do that. Anything for my sweet darling”, he smiled kissing Freed’s cheek. “I know you love that coat and you were really sad because of what happened to it so I wanted to make you smile again.”

“You really are hopeless”, Freed chuckled. “But thank you, this was a really nice gift”, he smiled and kissed Rufus’ lips. He was still getting used to kissing and every time when he did it on his own accord, Rufus was more than delighted. He wanted Freed to feel completely free to kiss him whenever and where ever he wanted.

“I’m glad to hear that”, Rufus purred. “Are you already going to bed?”

“Yes, I’m getting tired”, Freed nodded and put his coat in the closet where his other clothes were. Well, clothes he had borrowed from Rufus.

“I see. Then I will join you”, Rufus smiled. “I can continue my research in the morning.”

“You’re going to wake up when I wake up in any case, so it is a good idea to go to sleep earlier”, Freed smirked settling back to the bed while Rufus took off his clothes.

“I hear you”, he smiled and he got to the bed next to Freed.

“Aren’t you going to read?”

“No, I want to fall asleep with you”, Rufus smiled wrapping his arms around Freed again and rested his head on Freed’s shoulder.

“No sleeping mask this time?” the swordsman chuckled leaning his cheek against Rufus’ head.

“I don’t want to. I want to see you immediately when I wake up”, Rufus purred gently kissing his shoulder.

“You know, people say that kind of stuff only in books.”

“Well, this could be our own romantic love story.”

“I have no idea if I should say you’re freakishly cheesy or so perfectly romantic”, Freed smiled.

“I hope you like the latter better.”

“You know what? I might”, Freed laughed.

“Then I’m glad”, Rufus smiled kissing him.

 

It was still dark when Freed woke up from his dream and it felt like something was off. With yawn he raised his head and noticed Rufus was not in the bed. He looked around and almost got startled when he noticed the masked mage standing in the shadows near the window, looking out. Moonlight illuminated the area near the window just enough so Freed could see Rufus was frowning and following someone’s movements with his dark green eyes.

“Rufus”, Freed whispered making the memory mage jolt and look at him. “Is someone there?” Freed asked and he got up from the bed.

“Two”, Rufus muttered turning his gaze back to the garden. Freed quickly took his clothes, coat and his sword. “They haven’t done anything yet, they’re just talking with each other. They do seem to fit the description Orga told us.”

Freed quietly moved near the window and looked out. He saw two figures standing under the cherry trees.

“Why aren’t they hiding themselves better?” he muttered frowning.

“I have been wondering the same thing”, Rufus murmured. “There is no one else in the house so they are not standing there just to deceive us so someone could surprise us from behind.”

Freed looked at the figures better. The tall one seemed to be male, he was very slim and Freed believed he was around Elfman’s heigh. He had dark, long coat that was buttoned from his chin to his feet. But he couldn’t see his face because of the large upright collar.

Second figure was shorter but obviously more muscular. From this distance Freed couldn’t really tell if he was the same man who attacked him earlier.

“I can’t say either if he is the same man”, Rufus said as he could guess what Freed was thinking. “But if he is, I will definitely enjoy torturing him a little. He will suffer because of what he did to you.”

“My, you’re in a vindictive mood”, Freed smirked. “Shouldn’t it be me who seeks out the revenge since I was the one attacked?”

“You are going to stay as far from them as possible”, Rufus said looking at the rune mage. “You are not yet fully healed and you can’t use your magic. You can’t even run. It’s just simply not a good idea for you to even try to face them.”

“I hear you, even though I don’t like it”, Freed huffed. “But what are you going to do? How can you defend yourself against their poison? We don’t even know what kind of tools they use.”

“I figure something out, don’t you worry, dear”, Rufus smiled and touched Freed’s cheek. “You concentrate on keeping yourself out of their reach.”

“I’m allowed to be just as worried about you than you are about me”, Freed reminded.

“I know, thank you for your concern”, Rufus smiled. “I will be alright.”

“Isn’t it a better solution if we try to quietly leave this house?”

“I’m not really fond of the idea to turn tail just like that.”

“But it is wise in this situation. There are two of them and we don’t know what they might be able to do. They can even be mages themselves and use that poison to hunt other mages.”

“Hush, they are doing something”, Rufus said and Freed looked back at the two figures in the garden.

They moved slowly and carefully towards the house.

“They are coming inside”, Freed said. “I guess locks won’t stop them.”

“I have used some spells, they shouldn’t open just like that but it all depends on what tools they have and can they nullify my magic. Come”, Rufus said and he took his red coat from the chair.

They quietly stepped into the hallway and headed towards the stairway.

“They are obviously trying to break in through the doors in living room”, Rufus whispered.

“I still think we should try to get out from here”, Freed said. “We are trapped here.”

“No we are not, don’t worry. I have made sure this house has a secret passage so we can get out even if they have shut the doors from us. I’ll lead you to it.”

“Are you seriously going to stay here all by yourself?” Freed asked. “That is not a good idea, Rufus, trust me.”

“I want to ask some questions from them. I need to find out what they are doing to the mages they kidnap. If I’m lucky enough I might even be able to catch them.”

“Rufus, listen to yourself”, Freed said cupping Rufus’ cheeks with his hands. “I do believe you are a really strong mage, I have seen what you can do. But there are two against you, they have poison and we don’t know what they can do. You are overconfident right now and you want your revenge. You shouldn’t do something as risky as this now. They obviously don’t care if they accidentally kill their target during the hunt. If even one of those poisoned things touch you, you can’t use your magic anymore, you will end up just like me.”

“I won’t, I promise”, Rufus smiled making Freed sigh. This was the only bad habit Rufus had. Yes, he was strong and knew how to use his magic really creatively but he got easily too overconfident because of that. Freed still remembered how cocky he was at the beginning of the Grand Magic Games. “And I want to find out how to cure you. Only way to do that is capture one of them and make them talk.”

“I’m really glad you’re ready to do all that just for me but this is insane.”

They both flinched when they heard a small thump from somewhere downstairs.

“They got in”, Rufus whispered and he grabbed Freed’s hand quickly. “We must hurry.”

“Rufus”, Freed gasped silently when the masked man pulled him along with him.

They headed to the second floor while they still could and Rufus lead them near the library.

“Here”, he said stopping in front of the big painting and he pushed one of the beautifully carved flower ornaments at the frame. They heard a silent click and Rufus pulled the painting out of the way, revealing the hidden passage. “Don’t worry, only the entrance is this small.”

Freed opened his mouth to object this plan, but they both almost fell when the whole house shook because of explosions from downstairs.

“Your magic?” Freed asked.

“No, it’s them”, Rufus grumbled and a big cloud of dust and dirt came out from the secret passage. “Shit, they managed to destroy this passage.”

“Can you hear that?” Freed whispered quickly and he unsheathed his sword.

Through the other sounds caused by the damaged house, they heard heavy steps. And sniffing. Slow, deep sniffs like some big animal looking for it’s prey. Freed and Rufus backed further from the stairs as the voices came closer.

Rufus nodded his head to Freed and they stepped in the library. Quickly they shut the doors and pulled one of the heavy bookshelves in front of it.

“It won’t hold them long but maybe enough so we can figure out what to do next”, Rufus said as they stepped in the middle of the library. “They might cause more explosions.”

They both got confused when a sheet of paper suddenly fell quietly in front of them to the ground.

“How extraordinary collection of books”, they heard a chuckle above and raised their gazes.

Tall, slim man with a dark coat was hanging in the air, supported by eight tentacle-like devices. Freed jolted. When did that man got here?!

“I used the window”, man with a husky voice said pointing at the big window that was open. “Sometimes it is funnier to use windows instead of doors.”

“Why are you here? Rufus snarled. “Why are you hunting mages?”

“Don’t worry, we have almost every mage we need”, tall man said and they heard how someone tried to break the doors. “This trip here is to collect that rune mage as we have use for him and my friend there on the other side of the doors has a personal grudge against you with the mask.”

“Oh? Could it be he is the same man who we fought off with Orga before?” Rufus smirked.

“Yes.”

“How lucky, I have some grudge against him too.”

“I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you, mage. You have no idea what we can do.”

“Why are you doing this all?” Freed asked and the doors were crackling because of the heavy force hitting them. “For what do you use the mages you hunt?”

“We use them as the source of magic that we then use in our devices. With technology that has been improved with magic, anyone could be a mage”, dark coated man grinned and moved one of the ‘arms’ he had.

Freed and Rufus jumped aside when a shot of something green flashed in the air. The bookshelf holding the doors was destroyed just like that and papers filled the air.

The swordsman and the memory mage quickly got back on their feet and looked at the doors. Freed felt shivers run down his spine when they finally could face again the man who was the reason why he couldn’t use his magic anymore. He had the same mane as before and he was as big as Freed remembered. But there were also something very different about him.

Some parts of his torso was covered with metal plates, as well as his hands and the bottom half of his face. He looked even more bestial than before with the face mask shaped like a snout.

“This will be fun”, he smirked looking at Rufus who frowned. “You fucking shit broke my jaw last time but I should almost thank you since now I have something better, even though it hurt like hell to put this on.”

“I’m glad to hear it hurt, now I just need to break that new jaw as well”, Rufus said.

“You stay out of this”, the man with metallic snout growled looking at the man near the ceiling.

“Don’t worry, I have no interest to get involved in this. My only task is to capture the rune mage because you couldn’t do it before”, other man chuckled mockingly while turning some pages of the book he was holding.

“Fucking spider shit”, man with the mane snarled. “If you get in my way, I will kill you as well”, he warned and locked his eyes on Rufus.

Hands moved swiftly and sharp fanged traps were send towards the memory mage. Freed was about to jump in and use his sword when he heard Rufus muttering something and in a second the blond vanished. Traps let out a clink when they hit the fireplace instead of flesh.

Freed felt something moving near and hit the metal with his sword, as one of the creepy tentacles tried to catch him behind. Quickly he tried to see where Rufus appeared again but another tentacle tried to attack him.

“You shouldn’t try to focus on too many things at a time”, slim man chuckled looking at Freed. “Don’t you want to get cured of that poison? We can help you with that.”

“And then lock me up somewhere and draw out every bit of magic you can get?” Freed frowned backing between the shelves.

“Maybe. It all depends how much you’re ready to cooperate with us. You could even be one of us.”

“No thank you. I rather die than let you use my magic for evil deeds.”

“Oh how many of you guys have said that. Some of them did die. What a waste.”

Freed jolted when he heard a crashing sound from the other side of the library. Some of the shelves collapsed and books dropped to the ground as well as the paintings in the wall. Was Rufus okay?

Suddenly Freed could smell something alarming. Smoke.

“Are you insane?!” dark coated man shrieked suddenly and he escaped as high as he could, and Freed quickly tried to see where the fire was.

In the next second Rufus appeared right in front of him, grabbed his arms around him and pulled him with him towards the window. Freed shut his eyes and window crashed as they hit it. In that moment fire erupted in the whole library and the blast wave gave them even more speed.

They hit the roof of the first floor and managed to stop before they fell over the edge.

“Are you okay?” Rufus asked. “I’m sorry if that blast startled you.”

“I’m okay”, Freed nodded. “And you? He didn’t hit you with those traps?”

“No, I managed to cut down the chains and now they are good for nothing”, Rufus smirked and wiped some dirt from his face. “If those traps survive that fire in a good enough shape, maybe Magaidh can study that poison more.”

“Do you think those two survived?” Freed asked as they stood up.

With a roaming force the fire was destroying everything inside the library. It seemed impossible for anyone to survive in that flaming barrage.

“I’m actually surprised more if only that stops them”, Rufus said.

“You lost all of your books.”

“Maybe, but I didn’t lose you so everything is alright”, Rufus smiled. “And not all of my books were on the library.”

Freed and Rufus both jolted and got ready for the new attack when the roof of the library broke. Like a fleeing spider the tall man climbed quickly out and in the darkness they couldn’t see if he was hurt or not. What startled them more was when one of the windows crashed broke and the other man jumped down.

Freed almost threw up when he could smell the burning flesh. Man with a metal snout had horrible wounds caused by burn and his eyes were widened by pure anger.

“I’m going to kill you!” he roared like an insane beast. “I will kill you, you fucking asshole!”

“Jump!” Rufus shouted to Freed.

“You can’t escape!” still burning man yelled outraged and he dashed towards Rufus, determined to kill that mage no matter what. He would bring that bitch down with him!

“I said jump!” Rufus commanded and pushed Freed, who then had no other choice but to jump down from the roof.

Luckily the fall wasn’t that long and he knew how to land so he wouldn’t hurt himself too badly. He didn’t have time to worry about his bruises when he quickly scanned the roof where Rufus was. It was pointless, since the whole roof broke down to the living room and both men dropped there, continuing their fight against each other. Freed looked around and hid in the garden when he heard metallic sound as the tentacles hit the ground nearby.

“That stupid moron”, husky voice grumbled as the windows of the living room crashed when Rufus used his magic and the bigger man tried to hit the memory mage with whatever he could. “Well, he was just a brainless maniac from the start. Where are you, rune mage?” he asked looking around the garden. “There’s nothing you can do against me while you can’t use your magic. It’s only matter of time when I find you.”

Freed stayed perfectly still under the big bush, clenching tightly his sword as the steps came closer. Suddenly he felt how the air moved around even when he couldn’t feel the breeze. It was like…

“Shadows”, Freed gasped eyes widening.

The man with long coat stopped as he heard the tiny voice. He smirked evilly and one of the strong metal tentacles rushed to the bush with force, hitting the ground.

“Slippery little mouse”, he muttered annoyed. This was starting to get frustrating.

Something grabbed his ‘arm’ and he flinched. What was it? That rune mage couldn’t hold him that strongly without magic. Suddenly something black and quick rushed up along the tentacles towards him and he shouted with surprise.

Shadows ripped off the whole limb, leaving just a stump behind that twirled around and broken cords sparked slightly.

“Those who attack our guild mates and our guests shall be punished”, Rogue stated appearing from the shadows, making the other man back off.

“One more mage doesn’t change a thing, instead maybe I should capture you as well?”

“One? When we heard something was happening here, we all came here”, Rogue said and smiled when bright white pillar of light erupted from the living room towards the sky.

Man standing on his remaining seven metal ‘arms’ looked around and now he actually looked scared. He saw them when the shadows disappeared. Dozens of mages scattered all around the garden looking at him, ready to attack in a second if Rogue just gave the command to do so.

“Rogue”, Freed smiled relieved stepping beside the dark haired mage.

“I hope you’re not hurt, Freed”, Rogue smiled.

“I’m fine, thank you. Is Master Sting there with Rufus?”

“And Orga. Minerva and Yukino are arranging people to help put out the fire.”

“I won’t give up”, their enemy hissed frowning. “I might not be able to fight against all of you, but I will make my way out so I can get my revenge some other day.”

With that he opened the buttons from his coat. His torso and legs were filled with tiny needles, pointing outwards from his body.

“They might have poison in them, hide behind something!” Rogue said quickly and mages started to scatter.

But it was almost impossible for all of them to cover from the needles. There were hundreds of them, swiftly and quietly hitting whatever was on their way. Freed hide behind the nearest tree with Rogue and they heard cries when some of the mages were hit.

“Rogue”, Freed gasped when the dark haired mage stumbled against him. He shivered when he saw six long needles sticking out from Rogue’s shoulder.

“I will be alright”, the shadow mage said and he was panting already. Freed knew excactly how quickly the poison started to work. He looked around and at least seven mages collapsed on the ground already.

Metallic steps moved hurriedly but not towards them but away from them.

“He is getting away”, someone shouted.

“Let him go”, Rogue panted. “We must help the others. Carry out those who were infected by the poison and then go help out Minerva and Yukino, that fire is spreading quickly.”

“I’ll help you”, Freed said and he lifted Rogue’s arm around his neck so they could leave the garden and go to the safer place.

Freed glanced towards the house once before they left. It seemed like those four men were still fighting but he was sure everything would be alright now. Rufus wasn’t fighting alone anymore.

 


	9. Chapter 9

When they got out from the garden, Freed was practically carrying Rogue who did his best not to lose his consciousness.

“Rogue!” Magaidh shouted when she saw them and the other mages that were hit by the needles. She was waiting farther from the house with Lector and Frosch. “What the hell happened?!” pink haired woman asked and she hurried to help Freed carry the shadow dragon slayer.

“He… Surprise… Needles...” Rogue panted and he was sweating badly.

“Will Rogue be okay?” Frosch asked worried, although the usual smile never faded.

“We need to get those needles out right away”, Magaidh frowned. “We must carry everyone to the Guild’s infirmary”, she ordered and others nodded. “Where’s Rufus? He wasn’t hit was he?” Magaidh asked when they managed to get Rogue and the others on the carriage. For Rogue it was a good thing when he finally slipped to the unconsciousness, so he wouldn’t feel sick.

“No”, Freed said. “They are now fighting with the other foe, Master Sting and Orga are with him.”

“Then I know he will be fine”, Magaidh smiled. “Together they are strong like hell. Not some pathetic whoever can win them.”

“I believe that”, Freed chuckled.

“As long as Sting is there, nothing can stop them”, Lector assured. “Right, Frosch?”

“Fro thinks so too”, Frosch nodded and turned to look back to Rogue.

“Don’t worry, we will make sure he’s okay”, Magaidh smiled.

When everyone was on the carriage, Magaidh ordered some of the mages go help to put out the fire. Just for the caution he kept five mages to help so they would get the wounded safely to the infirmary.

“I don’t believe I have yet visited the Sabertooth Guild House”, Freed said sitting next to Magaidh who made sure the injuries were not fatal.

“Yeah, Rufus was pretty determined with his decision to take care of you in his own house instead of the infirmary”, she said. “And speaking about that, how are things with you two now?”

“What?” Freed asked confused.

“Well… You know. Has he said anything to you? Something really important?” Magaidh asked. She hated it when she had to circle like this and couldn’t just ask directly if Rufus had confessed yet.

“Um...” Freed mumbled and he blushed, making Magaidh smirk. “W-we might have talked about some things and...”

“He finally confessed, right?” pink haired woman asked and Freed’s cheeks turned even more redder but he nodded. “Oh thank god! Finally!” Magaidh laughed relieved. “That idiot has been almost unbearable sometimes, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone that hopelessly in love. Always rambling about you and how he wished he could even talk with you. I told him to grow some balls and just go to Magnolia and talk with you but no, he was too scared that you would just turn him down since he heard you might be dating that lightning dragon slayer.”

Freed imagined for a moment how Rufus would have suddenly appeared to their Guild and told him about his feelings. How he would have reacted?

“I would have probably turned him down”, he confessed and Magaidh lifted her eyebrow.

“But you didn’t this time?” she ensured.

“No”, Freed smiled. “I really do like him. If he had suddenly appeared to Magnolia and told me he loved me… That would have been quite creepy actually”, Freed laughed. “But I know him now better and he is a nice man.”

“That is good to hear”, Magaidh smiled. “He must be overjoyed.”

“I guess.”

“But it’s better if you know something, although it is possible you have already noticed it”, Magaidh said. “Rufus is really, _really_ possessive. And he can get freakishly jealous and then he can be dangerous. Not to you of course but I wouldn’t want to be the one causing that jealousness. Don’t worry, it’s not like he’s gonna lock you up in some tower or something”, she laughed. “He just… He’s the kinda guy who wants to give everything for his sweetheart. He wants to be able to give whatever his love wants and he never wants to lose you.”

“Isn’t too much of a possessiveness a bad thing?” Freed asked.

“Yeah, it is. But Rufus is not a bad guy. He will listen to you and won’t do stupid things, although I can totally see how he would break some bones if someone ever tries to do something to you.”

Freed thought about that.

“I think I can handle him”, he said finally with a smile. “I know I’m going to get angry probably many times because his possessive behaviour but I kind of like it also.”

“Makes you feel you’re precious to him, huh?” Magaidh smirked. “I understand that. But if he goes too far, make sure he understands where the line goes and he won’t cross that line again. He’s a smart guy and knows that he can’t have your love by force.”

They arrived at the Guild and all the injured mages were carried to the beds. Magaidh started with most serious injures first and Freed and the others did what they could to help her.

“Don’t destroy those needles”, chubby woman said. “I wanna examine them closely if I could perhaps finally find out what that poison is.”

“Alright”, Freed nodded and as Magaidh pulled the needles out, they put them on the tray.

After every needle was pulled out, Magaidh started to treat the wounds.

“Now we can only wait”, Magaidh huffed finally when every wound was clean and wrapped up with bandages. “Let’s take a look at you”, she decided and seated Freed on one of the beds.

“I’m perfectly fine, Magaidh”, the swordsman assured. “Only little bruises.”

“Oh, so it won’t hurt if I do this?” Magaidh said and she grabbed Freed’s arm and squeezed it slightly, making Freed grit his teeth. “I thought so. Adrenalin was causing you not to notice the pain earlier but your wounds had to endure a lot with all that ruckus. You just need some rest and couple of patches on these little bruises and you will be fine”, she smiled and took the bottle of disinfectant and cotton pads. “Has the others returned?” she asked from the mage who stepped at the room.

“Yes, just a moment ago. Master Sting and the others are waiting at the hallway.”

“Let them in”, Magaidh said and put the patches on the scratches.

Freed smiled relieved when he saw Rufus, walking on his own and not seemingly badly injured. He stepped in the room with Sting, Orga, Yukino and Minerva, also smiling when he saw Freed.

“I’m glad you’re alright”, Freed said.

“You too, dear”, Rufus smiled. “I’m sorry I had to be so rough on the roof.”

“No, it was for the best”, Freed said shaking his head. “I would have probably only got in your way if I had stayed there.”

“I’m glad you understand”, Rufus purred kissing his cheek.

“My, my”, Minerva chuckled. “Our minstrel has finally conquered his red moon, I guess?”

“Good for you, Rufus”, Orga smirked and Freed blushed, coughing a little bit.

“What happened to that other man?” he asked changing the subject as Magaidh started to heal Rufus and others with their bruises.

“He’s dead”, Sting said. “He went completely insane and he was badly injured. We tried our best to capture him so we could treat him and then ask questions, but he was too far gone. What happened to that man with the spider legs?”

“He got away”, Freed huffed. “He launched hundreds of poisoned needles and while everyone was busy to stay covered or help others, he ran.”

They all looked at Rogue who was laying on the bed in deep sleep.

“Will he be okay?” Sting asked worried.

“He needs rest right now”, Magaidh said. “I will make sure they get their medicine but right now we can’t say what might happen. I will keep them here until they wake up but I guess it’s hopeless to expect them to wake up before tomorrow evening.”

Suddenly Freed realised it was still night. Well, early morning, it was almost 4 o’clock. 

“We should also go to bed now when everything is calm again”, Rufus told him. “You need rest.”

“Before that we should write down what information we managed to get”, Freed notified.

“What did you find out?” Sting asked quickly.

“We know now for what they use mages they capture. They serve as the source of magic for their devices.”

“So… They are used to fill lacrimas?” Orga asked.

“I guess. Something like that it must be. It is either something they can recharge or something how they can directly use mage’s magic when needed.”

“Those tentacles the other man had were really fine works, they use the latest technology”, Rufus said. “You don’t find something like that in Fiore so who knows how far they might come. And then they use magic from the mage to make their devices even stronger. If they have fire mage, I guess they have device that can use fire as well. Those tentacles had magic that emerged somekind of a light that could destroy easily my big bookshelves.”

“They also mentioned that they almost have every mage they need”, Freed said. “But they didn’t tell if they were planning to attack somewhere.”

“Sounds like that is the case”, Sting muttered. “We must warn the other guilds. They might start attacking the whole guilds at a time and capture every mage that way and make their army even bigger. No more sneak attacks in the forests.”

“They also want Freed”, Rufus said. “The man who escaped said they had use for him.”

“I’m not going to let them capture me that easily”, Freed snorted. “No matter if I can’t use magic.”

“I’m sure of that, darling”, Rufus chuckled.

“I will take contact to other guilds first thing in the morning”, Sting said nodding. “You guys go to bed.”

They nodded and stepped on the hallway. There were rooms at the west side of the Guild House so they headed over there.

“We can use this room”, Rufus said opening one of the doors. “It is small but we will be alright, the bed is big enough for the two of us”, he said and they stepped in the room.

“This is good enough, I have nothing to complain”, Freed smiled. “Did your house get completely destroyed?”

“Not completely, but we cannot live there anymore. We have to stay here until I find another place for us where to live”, Rufus said and he took off his coat. “I have to go there tomorrow and see what we still can rescue. There are lots of goods in the basement, let’s just hope it managed to stay intact.”

“I’ll come help you”, Freed said and took off his coat too. “I really feel like I need to make myself useful after all this. I want to help you.”

“Thank you, but you really should just rest”, Rufus purred pulling Freed closer to himself. “If the basement is intact, I will just move what I still can rescue in there and they can wait there until we have a new place where to live.”

They got in the bed and Freed listened Rufus’ calm breathing when he fall asleep. For a moment he actually felt like Rufus had completely ignored the fact that he wouldn’t stay here in this town forever. He would return back to Magnolia soon. Of course, Rufus didn’t mention where he would find the place where they could live…

Freed quickly shook his head. Oh god there was no way they could already live together after only this short of time! But they had done that the whole time Freed was recovering. Would things change from that? And if they did, how? And how much?

With these questions in his head he finally dozed off.

 

Freed woke up when Rufus was moving and he yawned.

“Good morning”, he said and was greeted with warm lips against his own.

“Good morning”, Rufus chuckled. “How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine”, Freed assured. “Really. What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock. I was just about to leave to my house.”

“I should join you”, Freed said and he stood up.

“Actually, Sting suggested you should join them in the Hall”, Rufus said and he tied his scarf.

“Really? What for?” Freed asked surprised and put his clothes on.

“I’m not sure but he said there is no hurry.”

“I probably still should go there then right away.”

When they were ready they stepped on the hallway. Rufus greeted his fellow guild mates as they walked by and Freed looked around curiously. He had no time to look around last night.

Soon they arrived at the Guild Hall and Freed’s eyes widened.

“Freed!” Bickslow and Evergreen yelled excited and rushed towards them. Freed laughed and all three of them almost crashed on the floor when they hugged each other tightly.

“Baby, it’s like it has been forever since we saw you last time!” Bickslow cried.

“Freed must come home!” his ‘babies’ wailed, snuggling against Freed.

“I missed you guys too”, Freed chuckled.

“Is it true? You still can’t use your magic?” Ever asked worried. “At all?”

“It’s true”, the swordsman nodded and they finally let go of him. “But let’s not yet fall into despair. I will do my best to find the cure.”

“We will help! We are gonna find those bastards and make them give us the antidote”, Bickslow snarled. “Then we are gonna kick their asses.”

“We will kick them to the next week!” the Tiki dolls said twirling around them.

“Don’t do anything hasty, Bicks”, Freed said. “We don’t know enough about them. Running after them is a huge risk.”

“Yeah, whatever, let’s just go home now.”

“Eh?” Freed asked confused.

“We came to take you home”, Evergreen smiled. “Master said it is the best solution. Also, Porlyusica wanted to examine that poison better.”

“I will join you guys”, Magaidh smirked. “I’ll take the needles and go find those traps Rufus mentioned if we can still study them.”

“Oh”, Freed said blinking.

“Everyone has been worried”, Ever smiled. “I’m sure they are planning party already at home.”

“That sounds nice”, Freed smiled. But…

“You need to go home, Freed”, Rufus said suddenly making Freed look at him. “They are all worried about you”, the masked mage smiled. “I guess it’s okay for you to travel now that the rest of the Thunder Legion is with you and Magaidh is also coming.”

“He should be just fine”, Magaidh said. “And quicker I get these to Porlyusica the better. Sting can take care of Rogue and make him take his medicine and there are nurses who take care of the others.”

“I was thinking, maybe you should take Rufus with you?” Sting suggested with a sly smile. “Just to make sure everything will be alright and you don’t need to travel back home alone.”

“Oh, how convenient”, Magaidh smirked and Rufus laughed.

“Sting always knows how to solve everything the best way”, Lector said proudly.

“I will gladly join in this journey”, Rufus said pulling his arms around Freed’s waist and kissed him.

“Oo-Oh! Freed, baby, when did this happen?” Bickslow grinned surprised and Evergreen chuckled when Freed blushed deep red.

“Freed and Rufus, sitting in a tree”, ‘babies’ giggled.

“I thought you were here to recover from your injuries, not hunting men”, Bickslow snickered.

“Don’t tease him”, Ever smiled. “He’s really shy with these things.”

“Is that so?” Rufus purred and he looked at Freed. “Maybe I should kiss you in front of your whole Guild? Make sure everyone knows that you’re taken.”

“Think about all that screaming”, Bickslow cackled. “The place is gonna blow up!”

“I don’t know about that”, Freed said and he really tried to act like his whole face was not deeper red than his coat and there was no a certain memory mage hugging him tightly.

“You are so cute right now I don’t know how to handle it”, Rufus chuckled brushing those red cheeks with his slender fingers.

“Could you please stop?” Freed grumbled.

“Hmm… No”, Rufus smirked and kissed him again.

“Hey, lovebirds, we should start get going”, Magaidh said. “We don’t have all day time. Freed and his team can wait here while we go to Rufus’ house, it won’t take long and then we can finally go to the train station.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

They were sitting in a train and Freed listened what all had happened at the Fairy Tail while he was away. Apparently nothing big was going on, lots of fights, drinking and similar. Gildarts had come and gone, members from the other guilds had visited and of course there has been lots of talking about those mage hunters. Only S-class mages were allowed to travel alone anymore.

“Has there been any attacks?” Freed asked worried.

“None in Magnolia”, Ever said. “But we have heard two members of the Blue Pegasus was attacked and Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel are both missing members. They are not yet sure that they are kidnapped but they are looking for them.”

“That’s really alarming”, Freed huffed. “And the other Guilds?”

“We’re not sure”, Bicks said. “Weren’t they attacking Sabertooth?”

“They have attacked us”, Rufus nodded. “But they mostly attacked random mages who were just passing by. They probably didn’t want to take too much direct contact with us since they obviously have their headquarters somewhere near our city. But they were wrong when they assumed we wouldn’t notice what they are doing.”

“But we still only know some of those attacks”, Magaidh said. “Who knows, they might have kidnapped hundreds of mages, all around Fiore. The roads from our town to other towns are busy with travellers, there are every day lots of mages travelling around because their missions.”

Freed thought about it and gazed out from the window.

“Has anyone heard anything about Laxus?” he asked.

“He’s alright”, Ever smiled. “We talked with him. He’s coming home, but we’re not sure when he will arrive. You know he’s strong, he will be alright.”

“You’re right”, Freed smiled. “If anyone can take care of himself, it’s Laxus.”

Magaidh glimpsed towards Rufus quickly and he noticed how the memory mage slightly narrowed his eyes. Yes, maybe Freed just really admired Laxus and there was no romantic feelings involved, but Rufus would still be really careful. He would not lose Freed to someone else now, not even for Laxus Dreyar. Well of course if Freed would say himself that he would rather be just friends, then he had to accept it. But he would definitely try his best so things wouldn’t slip to that point.

The train stopped and they stepped on the station. Freed smiled looking around, it was so nice to be back Magnolia again.

“Let’s head to the Guild House right away”, Bickslow grinned. “Should we ask for a ride?”

“Absolutely not”, Freed said with an adamant tone. “We will walk.”

“Okay, if you’re sure you can.”

“I can.”

So they started their journey and greeted some of the townspeople on their way. Every step made Freed more and more excited and he really wanted to walk faster but his leg wasn’t agreeing with him. It was frustrating.

“We are not in a hurry”, Rufus chuckled. “We’ll get there.”

“I know”, Freed said slightly embarrassed. “But it’s like I only just now understand how much I have missed everyone.”

It was good to hear, as Rufus remembered how depressed Freed was at the first days. It was good to see he wasn’t anymore thinking that his life would be lonely. Rufus would do whatever it would take to make Freed see he was not alone and he could have happiness and love. He would give to his beautiful rune mage whatever he desired, no matter what it was or was it even possible. He would find a way to make things possible.

For Freed it felt like forever but finally he could see the familiar building with a big sign that said ‘FAIRY TAIL’ so everyone could see it. Everything was just like before he left. Well, maybe there was one new hole in the roof that was poorly fixed. As they stepped in front of the doors, they heard loud shouts and fighting from inside.

“It’s like nothing has changed”, Freed chuckled amused.

“Why would have anything changed?” Ever smiled.

“It somehow feels much longer time that I was away than it actually was”, Freed said. “Not that I’m complaining my time at your house”, he said to Rufus who laughed.

“I know what you mean, dear”, he purred. “Let’s go inside so everyone can see that you’re back and alright.”

Freed nodded and Bickslow grabbed the doors, swinging them open a little bit too dramatically if you asked from Freed. When the heavy doors slammed against the walls it was impossible for anyone to not notice someone was entering and silence landed on the Hall.

“Look who came back home!” Bickslow cackled and he motioned towards Freed.

“Bicks, that is not necessary –“ he started but his words were drown because loud yelling erupted in the Hall.

In the next moment Freed was almost terrified what was about to happen when his guild mates rushed towards them, everybody asking something at the same time. It was funny and... So nice. So heart warming the rune mage could hardly believe it.

“Quiet already, you brats!” he heard a familiar shout and immediately everyone moved aside so Master Makarov could walk over. “It is good to see you again, Freed”, he smiled softly. “We were really worried about you.”

“I’m really sorry that I have caused so much worry for everyone, Master”, Freed said.

“No, don’t you say sorry, there’s nothing you need to apologize. It is those bastards that will soon feel sorry because they dared to attack one of our family members!” Makarov yelled and the others cheered. “This is war! Fairy Tail will do whatever it can so we can get rid of those hunters!”

“Master...” Freed said and he actually needed to swallow a little.

“We will crush those jerks like they’re just bugs!” Natsu howled and others cheered. “We’ll get rid of them quicker than Gray loses his pants!”

“Yes – wait what?” Gray growled annoyed and Freed chuckled.

“It is so good to be back home”, Greenette smiled brightly. “I have missed this.”

He looked at Rufus and Magaidh.

“You remember Rufus Lore?” he said to everyone. “He was kind enough to take care of me when I needed help. And Magaidh has done wonders with her medicine and healing skills so I’m even this good of a shape right now. They and the rest of the Sabertooth have helped me a lot.”

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you that you helped one of our family members”, Makarov nodded with a smile. “I’m more than honoured to welcome you two in the Guild House of Fairy Tail. Please make yourselves at home.”

“Thank you so much, Master Makarov”, Rufus said bowing his head with Magaidh.

“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. We will always help those who help our family in need.”

“I will ask if I come up with something”, Rufus chuckled mischievously looking at Freed who’s cheeks turned red.

“Ooh? Do I see blushing?” Happy giggled making Freed jolt. “Do you maybe... Like him?” he purred and snickered with others.

“Now now, let’s give them some space”, Ever said shooing the blue exceed away and Freed was silently thanking her. It was not like he was ashamed, but... This was kind of a chaotic situation right now to announce something like that. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you something to drink”, Ever smiled happily and she took Freed’s hand dragging him to one of the tables. Rufus chuckled and followed them, sitting down beside Freed.

“Where can I find Porlyusica?” Magaidh asked from Makarov. “It’s probably better that I go see her right away.”

“She’s at her cottage. Jet! Go show her the way”, Makarov said and with that Jet and Magaidh exited the Guild. “Now we should party!” the old man guffawed loudly.

“Just tell us what you want”, Mira smiled taking trays with Lisanna.

“I guess one glass of wine wouldn’t hurt”, Freed said.

“Sounds nice, I’ll take one too”, Rufus nodded.

 

There were drinking, talking and eating. At some point people were even dancing around on the tables and Freed laughed with others when there was a loud crash as the table finally gave in when Elfman tried to accompany the others on it.

“It really is lively here”, Rufus smiled.

“Always”, Freed nodded. He was very careful not to drink too much. He had some really bad memories what could happen if you let yourself drink too much here.

“Rufus! You would love to join me in the drinking competition, right?” Cana slurred as she was sitting on Bickslow’s lap, both already drunk.

“Really? I would?” Rufus chuckled.

“You would be delighted!” Cana laughed. “You’re not lightweight like our Freed, aren’t you?”

“Who knows”, Rufus just said mysteriously and Freed rolled his eyes.

“It’s your own fault if you go down that road”, he warned the red masked mage. “But it’s your own head you have to carry tomorrow so you can do what you want.”

“I think I might pass this time but thank you for the offer”, Rufus said politely and Cana huffed.

“You are no fun”, she decided and took a mighty gulp from her mug.

Rufus just chuckled and looked around. It was just as chaotic here as it was in Sabertooth when they decided to have a party. In that way they were more than similar. He could see why Freed would never want to leave his family, it was like he would never leave Sabertooth. All these little things that most of the people would find annoying and harmful were what made their guilds so special. They weren’t normal people so it was only natural that they fitted in with these people who were like them.

The blond mage smiled looking how Freed talked with others and he chuckled when he noticed how despite being so careful with his drink, the swordsman was already starting to seem slightly tipsy. Not much, just a little bit but he could see it. There was a slight redness on his cheeks that could only be caused by alcohol.

“Are you feeling bad that he’s not telling the others?” Bicks asked as Cana was preoccupied talking with levy and Lucy right now.

“No”, Rufus assured. “He tells them when he’s ready.”

“You know, he only needs a little push”, Bicks smirked. “And then it’s over. He just doesn’t like it when everybody’s attention is on him. And with announce like that... Sure as hell you guys are going to be in the middle of the attention the whole evening.”

“Of what?” Cana asked curiously.

“That you are always the one who has my whole attention in the moment you say something”, Bickslow grinned giving her a big wet smooch, making her giggle.

“You dog”, she said wrapping her arms around the seith mage’s neck.

“Woof, baby”, Bicks snickered.

Rufus felt a tap on his hand and he looked at Freed.

“What did you speak with Bicks?” the swordsman asked. “I can’t help but be a little worried, it seemed like Bicks was giving some advices and that never ends well...”

“He might have”, Rufus purred. “You don’t need to worry about it. I would never push you to do something you don’t want to. Everything happens when it’s the right time for it.”

“I’m glad you understand”, Freed smiled. “You’re really something.”

“Oh yeah, he really is”, Ever chuckled leaning against Freed who sighed. If they wouldn’t say it, he was pretty sure Bickslow or Evergreen would drop hints all night if they drank more. And they obviously were going to drank more. “Rufus is _sooo_ handsome and kind and strong”, brunette chuckled elbowing Freed’s ribs. “He’s like a prince from daydreams. Right, sweetie?”

“Ever...” Freed sighed.

“There is love in the air!” the Tiki dolls chanted.

“Isn’t that a little bit too harsh?” Lucy asked and she and Levy actually looked a little bit sympathetic because all the tormenting Freed had to take. But they still couldn’t help that it was also funny.

“Oh, he knows we are just teasing”, Ever chuckled mischievously. “Right, Freed?”

Freed let out a deep sigh.

“I think I need to borrow this”, he said and took Rufus’ hat making the memory mage lift his eyebrows confused.

With just a small amount of dramatic touch Freed moved the big red hat in front of them and then he pulled Rufus in to a kiss behind it. Rufus’ eyes widened slightly but he was absolutely amazed. He did not actually wait for Freed to even mention about their relationship to anyone yet. And then this... He was more than happy to answer that kiss, caressing those soft lips with his own. Behind the hat, no-one saw them yet anyone could clearly see what was going on.

And then it felt like someone clicked the voices back on.

Freed chuckled to the kiss when he heard screaming, yelling, whistling and how feet were tampered against the floor. He opened his eyes.

“Guess there’s no need to keep this as a secret”, he whispered looking at the masked mage who smirked.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me”, he purred kissing Freed again.

“This will be a long night, you have no idea how bad they can be.”

“As long as I can still stand by you the night, they can do whatever they want”, Rufus chuckled. “I hope they might tell me something about how you were when you were younger.”

“Oh god no”, Freed groaned and Rufus laughed putting his hat on his boyfriend’s head.

“Don’t worry, I promise not to listen too carefully if they are embarrassing”, he smiled.

“You’re lying, you fox. Obviously you will listen and memorize everything.”

“You know me well, darling.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

It was almost midnight when they finally opened the door to the house where Thunder Legion lived together.

“I’m sorry, there is no guest room since Laxus is also staying here while he’s looking for a new place. Though, he have lived here already half a year so I guess this is his new place”, Freed said and he almost tripped over when he stepped inside the house.

“Well, it is a good thing that I want to sleep with you rather than in the guest room”, Rufus smiled closing the door. Ever and Bickslow wanted to stay a little longer at the Guild, but Rufus decided it was time for him and Freed to leave when the rune mage had started to slightly sway on his chair.

“It’s really late but do you want something to eat?” Freed asked and he managed to hang his coat on the rack and put his boots to where they belonged out of the way.

“I’m not that hungry but you definitely need a glass of water and perhaps a little snack”, Rufus laughed. “You really are lightweight, I had to finish your third glass of wine so you wouldn’t pass out at the Guild.”

“I knew someone took that glass!” Freed pouted glaring at Rufus.

“I’m sorry, dear. It was for your own good”, Rufus chuckled kissing Freed. “You’ll thank me in the morning when you don’t have that bad hangover.”

“I’m not that drunk”, Freed said with a hiccup, walking over to the kitchen. The house was average sized, they all had own rooms and there were two bathrooms and a big kitchen and a living room.

“Just be careful”, Rufus purred following his now clearly tired boyfriend. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom and take a shower?”

“No, of course you can take a shower. Do you need anything?”

“I have my own towel and a change of clothes, I will be fine”, Rufus smiled opening his bag and took out what he needed. “Will you be okay while I’m in the bathroom? You won’t do something stupid?”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry”, Freed said and he took a glass from the cupboard. “Bathroom door is just opposite the entrance.”

“Alright”, the memory mage nodded.

After the shower, Rufus dried his hair with a useful spell and then he braided them. He returned back to the kitchen wearing red sleeveless shirt and dark pyjama pants. He chuckled when he found Freed leaning against the table, almost asleep.

“Where’s your room?” he asked gently and Freed raised his head.

“Oh, yes, we were going to sleep”, he said with a yawn.

“Did you find something to eat?”

“Yes, I ate some crackers. They were okay, I guess”, Freed said and got up. “I’ll show you my room, then I should take a shower too so I sober up a bit.”

“Okay”, Rufus nodded.

He followed the rune mage to the stairs. Freed’s room was the first door on the left and they stepped in.

“I usually use my runes to keep the door locked, but well…” Freed sighed.

“Oh my”, Rufus gasped looking around.

So much books. Piled all around in the floor because there was not enough room in the shelves for them. This space was small so there was no room for more than six shelves and even they fitted in just barely. There were also a desk, a wardrobe and of course a bed that was big enough for them both.

“My poor dear sweetheart. You’re living in a can”, Rufus said and Freed shrugged.

“Not all of us can live in a mansion”, he chuckled. “Don’t start acting like a spoiled nobleman. This is fine, even if this house does feel sometimes a little bit too crowded, especially when both Elfman and Cana are staying over. I’ll go take the shower now”, he said and stepped in the hallway.

Rufus put his bag on the floor and looked around more. Despite being in piles on the floor, it was obvious that the books were arranged in correct way and taken good care of. And Freed obviously took good care of not leaving random stuff laying around on the way, everything was where they were meant to be. Freed probably had many tricks how to safe space. For Rufus who had lived in a big house all his life this felt so bizarre. He had to live in a small rooms only when they were on missions, but it was completely different then. He couldn’t even imagine how it felt to have to share the tiny space with others all the time...

With curiosity Rufus peeked in the wardrobe. Seemed like Freed wasn’t someone who went shopping clothes often, but the clothes he had were elegant. Nothing too outstanding of his normal clothes, though.

After a while Freed finally came back, wearing dark green pyjama pants now and a black t-shirt.

“Sorry, it took a while to dry this bush enough so I can sleep”, he huffed brushing his hair. Rufus smiled and reached to run his fingers through the green hair and all the dripping water disappeared with that. “Thank you, that helped a lot.”

“It was my pleasure”, Rufus smiled. “We should go to bed now”, he said and Freed nodded, taking the other side of the bed.

Freed smiled when he laid down. It was always nice to sleep in his own bed no matter what. And when Rufus wrapped his hands around him, it felt even better.

“Can I ask you something?” the blond suddenly muttered.

“Of course”, Freed yawned snuggling his cheek against Rufus’ chest more comfortably. He was still feeling tipsy and that made him clingy.

“Doesn’t it drive you crazy when you have to live here, in this tiny room?”

“Sometimes”, Freed nodded. “But then again, we are usually out doing missions and when I’m here, I mostly just read. This space is enough for that. If I want more space, I can always go to the living room or somewhere out.”

“I guess that makes sense”, Rufus smiled.

“Have you always lived in that big house of yours?” Freed asked. If that was true, no wonder why Rufus was not used to a small room like his.

“I lived in Crocus when I was younger. I moved into that house when I was fifteen.”

“So you’re from Crocus, huh?” Freed asked and moved just enough so he could see Rufus’ face. “Interesting. Why did you leave?”

“To join Sabertooth”, Rufus chuckled. “I wanted to belong in the strong Guild. Both of my parents were mages and they had their own Guilds, I wanted to find my own.”

“Does your parents still live in Crocus?”

“No, I’m afraid. They died a long time ago.”

“I’m so sorry”, Freed said touching Rufus’ cheek gently. “I shouldn’t have pried.”

“It’s alright. Whatever you ask from me, I’m more than willing to answer as best as I possibly can”, Rufus smiled kissing Freed. “Do you want to know more?”

“Do you have siblings?” the Greenette asked curiously.

“No, as far as I know I’m the only child.”

“Other relatives?”

“Yes, two aunts from my father’s side with their families and one uncle from my mother’s side.”

“Do you talk with them?”

“I haven’t seen them since I moved to join Sabertooth. I’m guessing they are still living in Crocus. Can I ask you something?” Rufus smiled and Freed nodded. “What about your family?”

“I have no family”, Freed said shaking his head and slowly drew some patterns on Rufus’ chest with his finger. “Fairy Tail is my only family.”

“I’m glad you have them”, Rufus said. “Where did you live before you found them?”

“In the orphanage. They kicked me out when I learned how to use rune magic. For them, it was scary.”

“That sounds really cruel, how could anyone ever do something like that to you?” Rufus said and Freed smiled when he was squeezed tighter. “You must have been cute as a button when you were young.”

“I don’t know about that”, Freed laughed.

“How did you find Fairy Tail?”

“Because of Laxus and Bickslow”, Freed smiled. “We happened to come across each other, I was scared what they might do and trapped them inside my runes. I was just about to run away when Laxus assured they wouldn’t harm me. Instead, he offered that I should join them. I was astounded, I had never heard about mage guilds so Fairy Tail sounded both amazing and terrifying.”

“Sounds about right”, Rufus chuckled and Freed laughed. “I guess this is enough for one night.”

“I agree”, Freed said. “We really need some sleep. We can always talk more later.”

 

In the next morning Freed woke up early like he normally did, but this time he had a slight headache. Damn wine.

He whined silently and rolled over against Rufus’ back, his cheek pressed on the blond hair. He knew he should get up and drink water, take some medicine and take another shower so he wouldn’t reek of alcohol, but he just couldn’t force himself to get up yet. He should start doing breakfast, he could guess that Bickslow at least had a massive hangover and needed piles of food to survive it. 

With great efforts he managed to finally get himself up and even without a grunt. He knew Rufus would wake up instantly if he said anything or even let out a peep. Freed was really carefull not to make any noice as he stepped on the hallway, leaving Rufus to sleep more.

He took the medicine to his headache and started to make breakfast. It was better this way, then he could shower in peace while others had breakfast ready for them. He was just starting another omelet when he was startled by arms that wrapped around him from behind.

“Good morning, dear”, Rufus purred in his ear. “You managed to sneak out without waking me up, you’re getting better.”

“Good morning, Rufus”, Freed smiled. “It was not an easy task. But I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

“You could never disturb me in any way, no matter what I’m doing”, Rufus smirked and Freed jolted slightly when warm lips gently touched his neck. The swordsman had noticed that Rufus’ actions had started to have some boldness and insinuations in them, even though he was still not meaning anything with it. Or at least it was not straightforwardly clear what he was meaning…

“Are you trying to set me on the mood?” Freed chuckled looking at Rufus who now leaned his head against his shoulder.

“I don’t know”, he whispered with a smoky voice that definitely send shivers down Freed’s spine, but in a good way. “I’m still trying to decide if it’s you or that food that smells so tasty.”

“You’re still half-asleep”, Freed laughed.

“Am I?” Rufus smirked with a predatory twinkle in his eyes and he pressed himself against Freed’s back closer and tightened his grip around the rune mage. “Are you sure?”

“No make outs in the kitchen, that is one of this house’s rules”, Freed noted.

“Memorized”, Rufus chuckled. “But maybe only just a little?” he murmured kissing Freed’s neck, making him tremble again. Oh, it seemed like Freed’s neck was really sensitive, he should most definitely memorise that.

“Rufus, no”, Freed scolded. “Rules are rules.”

“Breaking them just makes things more interesting...”

“Chain yourself you horny fox and leave Freed alone”, they suddenly heard Magaidh’s grumble and they both jolted, looking at the kitchen’s door. “It’s fucking eight o’clock in the morning, I’m _not_ in a mood to watch how you two make out, so restrain yourself no matter how much your balls are aching.”

“Good morning to you too, Magaidh”, Rufus muttered wryly and Freed’s cheeks were burning red. “I hope you’re having a hangover.”

“Not that bad”, Magaidh said.

Rufus huffed and he finally let go of Freed. Seriously, did Magaidh have somekind of a radar when to show up if he was approaching Freed? First she appeared to mess up things when he was about to confess, now this. He was so sure he could have seduced Freed to come back to bed with him, but…

Magaidh looked back and she wasn’t even a slightest bit of scared of his scowling.

“Oh come on, you guys can hump each other as much as you want but don’t do it here where there are other people”, she snapped and Freed just did his best to focus only on making the omelets.

“Why are you up this early anyway?” Rufus asked and he sat down.

“I was really hungry”, Magaidh said shrugging. “And whatever Freed cooks it smells good.”

“Wait a second, we were already sleeping when you came here, how did you find here and how did you get inside?” Rufus asked.

“After the midnight I returned back to the Guild and Bickslow and Evergreen told me you two went home already. Evergreen said she was going to sleep with that big guy Elfman, so I could sleep in her room. What a shame that she’s straight, she is so pretty and sassy, I really like her”, Magaidh sighed leaning against the table and Freed chuckled.

“I don’t know if you two would be good together in the end”, Freed said and he gave her a plate with an omelet. “And it doesn’t even matter if you do, she’s with Elfman and nothing can change her mind”, he chuckled giving other plate to Rufus.

“I know, I know”, Magaidh huffed and she started eating, as Freed took his own breakfast and sat down. “But it doesn’t matter, actually I found someone else even more interesting, cute and pretty last night”, Magaidh smirked.

“That poor lady”, Rufus snickered. “Then, who is she?”

“I didn’t get her name, I had no chance to talk with her yet”, Magaidh explained.

“Describe her for me”, Freed suggested. He wasn’t sure about the girls in their Guild, if some of them were gay or not.

“She was serving drinks all night when I was there”, Magaidh said. “Beautiful white hair.”

“Short?”

“Long.”

“Oh god”, Freed blinked. Mirajane? Magaidh was after Mirajane? Now that he thought about it… It just somehow…

“What? Isn’t she a model?” Magaidh asked. “I don’t read much magazines but I heard that much. So is she straight?”

“Actually, I have no idea”, Freed confessed. “Absolutely no idea. But she is a wonderful person”, he smiled. “With surprises. Who knows, maybe you should try to approach her?” he chuckled.

“I’m gonna do that”, Magaidh grinned. “But first I will sleep couple more hours. Porlyusica promised to come to the Guild so I need to wait her there after noon.”

“Did she yet say anything about that poison?” Rufus asked.

“No. She needs more time to study it, so don’t hold your breath”, Magaidh said. “But we will do our best so we’ll find the antidote as quickly as possible”, she smiled to Freed, who nodded.

“I know you will”, he said with a small sad smile. “Thank you so much, Magaidh.”

“No need to thank. Rufus’ boyfriend is obviously part of our family too, and we take care of our family”, Magaidh smiled and Freed blinked. “Consider yourself as indirectly a member of Sabertooth.”

“I like the idea of that”, Rufus chuckled.

“It is really weird”, Freed laughed. “But I guess it’s not that bad.”


	12. Chapter 12

After they ate, Magaidh returned back to Ever’s room to sleep some more. Rufus had demanded to do the dishes since Freed had made them the breakfast. He smiled happily and let his thoughts to come up with a plan how he could set Freed in the right mood after this…

He cleaned the surfaces at the end, just in time when the bathroom door opened as Freed had been taking a shower. All Rufus’ plans were cruelly crashed when he saw his adorable boyfriend fully clothed.

“Nooo, I was hoping we could have cuddled in the bed until noon”, blond whined wrapping his arms around Freed. “It would have been wonderful.”

“Maybe”, Freed chuckled patting gently Rufus’ back. “But you know me, I want to get up and start doing something. I was actually thinking about walking around a bit, I noticed there is hardly anything in the fridge.”

“I see”, Rufus huffed. “I guess it can’t be helped. Grocery shopping it is then.”

“I’m sorry”, Freed said slightly worried. Was Rufus offended because he didn’t want to just stay in bed?

“Don’t be”, Rufus smiled kissing his cheek. “We have time to cuddle as much as we want later.”

“I’m glad you understand”, Freed chuckled leaning their foreheads together. “And I’m sure Bickslow will wake up soon and we wouldn’t have any peace anyway. I can’t use my runes to lock the door or anything so...”

“It’s alright”, Rufus smiled.

“I know what you’re implying when you suggest we should stay in bed, but… I’m ashamed to say this but the idea slightly scares me”, Freed confessed blushing fiercely.

“Scares?” the memory mage asked surprised.

“Well, not in a way that I don’t want to do anything ever. Maybe I just need more time”, Freed sighed and let go of Rufus. “And doing something here, when there are others in the house? I’m sorry, I’m not a guy who can just shamelessly do things and doesn’t care if someone might hear...”

“I understand”, Rufus said caressing the rune mage’s cheek tenderly. “There is nothing wrong with that. You should always let me know how you’re feeling so I know what to do. If you feel like you’re not ready, then we just wait, it is as simple as that”, he smiled. “Never force yourself with me, darling.”

Freed smiled and kissed Rufus, who gladly answered to his motion of affection. Sure, he was disappointed but that didn’t matter. They needed the right time and the right place. Now that he thought about it, it wouldn’t have been that pleasant in the end if they had to be really quiet and careful so no-one would notice.

Suddenly they heard how someone fit the keys in the lock. Freed let go of Rufus and looked at the door wondering if Ever was returning already. But he was surprised when he saw Laxus opening the door.

“Welcome home, Laxus”, he smiled, happy to see his old friend again after many weeks.

“Hey, Freed”, Laxus said dropping his bag on the floor and closed the door.

“You look exhausted”, Freed noticed as Laxus threw his coat on the rack.

“No shit, I’ve been walking the whole night”, bigger man groaned rubbing his face. “I’m ready to sleep where ever I collapse at any minute.”

He took off his shoes and stepped in the hallway. Then he finally noticed Rufus and got confused.

“Aren’t you that memory mage from Sabertooth?” he asked and Freed could guess that Laxus didn’t know what all had happened.

“Rufus Lore”, Rufus introduced himself. “I believe this is our first time actually talking to each other, it is nice to meet you, Laxus Dreyar.”

“You too”, Laxus said.

“There are omelets in the fridge if you need something to eat”, Freed smiled.

“Thanks, Freed. So what are you doing here, Lore?” Laxus asked stepping in the kitchen past them.

“Of course I’m here to take care of _my_ Freed”, Rufus purred and Freed blushed slightly. Wow, Rufus sounded possessive.

Laxus looked at them confused.

“Since when he has been yours?” he asked.

“Ever since we decided we would be the most wonderful couple together”, Rufus hummed with a sly smirk. Freed yelped when he suddenly made him lean back, supporting him with his arm. “We are absolutely perfect for each other”, blond chuckled and kissed Freed who instantly blushed.

Finally Rufus pulled him up, smiling and looking satisfied when he saw Laxus looking so surprised. Freed belonged to him, not anyone else. Not even to the man Freed called a Thunder God.

“Rufus, that was not necessary”, Freed snapped embarrassed, but that smug smile did not fade from Rufus’ lips even for a second.

“Really? But isn’t it a good thing that he knows?” he just purred not letting go of his swordsman. “So he can adjust to the idea that you have a boyfriend now”, he smirked looking at Laxus.

The lightning dragon slayer stayed silent, with an expression that didn’t reveal what he was thinking. But he was thinking obviously and quick, that’s what Rufus was sure. Now he was almost positive that Laxus had at least some kind of feelings towards Freed, but were they strong or even something worth to mention, that was still a mystery.

“Seems like a lot have happened while I was away”, Laxus murmured and turned to take a plate.

“Oh, yes”, Rufus just chuckled. “Freed is feeling much better, but he still needs to be careful. He can start light training soon when Magaidh gives him the permission.”

“Magaidh?”

“Sabertooth’s healer. She’s sleeping at Evergreen’s room right now”, Freed explained. He was completely oblivious about things Rufus had noticed and it was definitely for the best. “She helped me with my wounds.”

“Were you attacked?” Laxus asked suddenly. “By who?”

“Those mage hunters. I was near Rufus’ home town when one of them attacked. He managed to surprise me. I’m sorry, Laxus”, Freed apologised looking at the floor. “I was really careless.”

“Why wasn’t I informed?” Laxus growled. “They told me nothing when they called, just said that I had to come back right away because there are some mage hunters.”

“I’m glad they didn’t say anything, this way you didn’t need to worry for nothing. I was really lucky that Rufus and Orga were nearby when that man attacked. Without them, I have no idea what would have happened”, Freed smiled and Rufus was almost bursting with joy because of compliments from the love of his life. And if Laxus was maybe a little bit jealous that was a nice bonus. It didn’t matter if Laxus had feelings towards Freed or not, he would make sure there was no doubt the lightning mage didn’t have any change with _his_ boyfriend.

The small smirk in Rufus’ lips slightly widened when he actually saw a little annoyed frowning from Laxus.

“Guess I need to thank you, Lore”, Laxus grunted sitting down. “For keeping our captain safe.”

“It was my pleasure to take care of him”, Rufus chuckled kissing Freed’s cheek. “And I will keep taking care of him.”

“Don’t act like I can’t take care of myself”, Freed huffed crossing his arms.

“Of course, dear”, Rufus said immediately. He knew Freed was a proud man who did not want to be patronized. “I know you can. But it is never bad to be just extra careful”, blond smiled. “I’ll go change now, then we can head to the market”, he said, gave Freed a quick peck on his cheek and went to the stairs.

Freed smiled and started to write the list of what he should buy.

“Are you sure about that guy?” Laxus grumbled. “He seems snobbish and egocentric.”

“Maybe at the first sight”, Freed laughed. “But he’s actually very romantic, sweet and thoughtful. And it was very kind of him to take care of me in his house all this time.”

“His house?”

Freed nodded and he told Laxus everything. The dragon slayer just sit there and listened, silently wondering what all Rufus and Freed might have done together. Rufus sure did seem really confident about himself and his position in Freed’s eyes.

“So, we returned yesterday”, Freed said. “We had a party at the Guild, now I’m feeling bad you couldn’t take part of it.”

“It’s alright, it’s not like there won’t be other parties”, Laxus shrugged. “So are they staying long?”

“I don’t know”, Freed said shaking his head. “I believe at least until Porlyusica finds out something about the poison.”

“I hope she can find how to cure you. It must be pain in the ass, not being able to use your magic.”

“It is, I can’t deny that. But I’m doing my best to adjust.”

Soon Rufus returned and Freed got up, folding the shopping list and put it in his pocket.

“Are you ready?” Greenette asked.

“Of course, darling”, Rufus smiled taking his coat and hat, and Freed took his own coat.

“We try to be quiet when we return”, Freed promised to Laxus. “So you can sleep.”

“That is no fun”, Rufus whined. “Maybe he wants to hear how I make my little vixen moan loudly.”

“Rufus!” Freed shouted blushing.

“We could have so much fun, but I guess we have to restrain ourselves… This time”, Rufus chuckled.

“Let’s go already”, Freed said grabbing Rufus’ hand and pulled him along out of the house. “Why did you say something like that?” Freed hissed.

“I just teased him a little”, Rufus smiled. “And I want him to absolutely understand that you’re mine.”

“He understands”, Freed huffed. “You’re unbelievable. If you even try to hint in a way that I can’t talk with whoever I want -”

“I would never do something like that”, Rufus assured. “I might be possessive, but I know better than try to chain you. You are always free to talk with whoever you want. I just make sure they know you have a boyfriend who will not tolerate it if they try to flirt.”

“Laxus wouldn’t flirt with me so stop provoking him and making him angry”, Freed said rolling his eyes.

They walked in the silence, until Rufus glimpsed at Freed.

“Do you still have feelings towards him?” he asked and made the rune mage jolt.

“What’s with that sudden question?” he asked surprised.

“Just tell me. Tell me I have nothing to worry about”, Rufus said and he squeezed Freed’s hand. Freed blinked looking at the memory mage, who stared straight ahead. “Tell me that now when Laxus is back, you won’t forget me.”

“I wont”, Freed huffed. “You’re making it really hard for me to even try”, he grinned.

“I don’t want to lose you to anyone. And if Laxus suddenly said something… Would you disappear from my side? If he whistled, would you run to him just like that?”

Loud slap echoed on the street and they stopped. Rufus’ eyes were wide, there was a pure shock in his face and his other cheek was turning red because of the swat.

“Don’t think that little of me”, Freed growled, his turquoise eyes now dangerous. “And don’t you _ever_ compare me to a dog again. I’m only going to say this once so listen well and make sure to remember it: I don’t love Laxus that way”, he said and Rufus were still too stunned because of the slap, he didn’t know what to say. “Have some faith in me. Do you think I’m some tramp who walks from man to man and never stays loyal? Do you think it’s easy for me to love anyone who just walks by? I’m a man who only loves one person and never even thinks about cheating or leaving just like that, so don’t you doubt me and my feelings like that.”

For a moment there were silence.

“You love me?” Rufus asked finally and that made Freed’s cheeks to heat up.

“I might”, he said looking other way. “I still need some time to be sure about it.”

“I’ll give you all the time you need so you can be sure”, Rufus smiled brightly and it felt like his heart was fluttering because he was so happy. “I’ll never doubt you like that again, never. I will promise that, dear.”

“You better”, Freed growled. “You don’t want to make me really be mad at you.”

“I don’t. I love you, Freed”, Rufus said kissing his boyfriend lovingly. “Only you. You’re my whole world, dear. My future, my dreams, my everything.”

Freed smiled and he felt flattered. Maybe… Maybe he really did love Rufus? He surely didn’t feel like this towards anyone else. This was so new and confusing, but absolutely nice and something he wanted.

“Let’s continue to the marketplace”, he chuckled finally. “We have lots of shopping to do.”

“Of course”, Rufus smiled and the continued their journey. In their way he bought the newspaper.

“Rufus, are you still seriously thinking about renting a house?” Freed asked amused when the memory mage opened the page where there were list of apartments for rent.

“Just looking, dear”, Rufus smiled happily.

“Liar. You know renting a house is not necessary.”

“But you yourself said you felt the house was too crowded sometimes. And wouldn’t it be nice to have more space and peace?”

“Maybe”, Freed had to admit. “But don’t rush into anything just yet.”

“I wont, darling”, Rufus smiled, but kept looking trough the notes.


	13. Chapter 13

Rufus was more than amazed when they wandered around the marketplace, from shop to shop, from booth to booth. Suddenly he was carrying four big paper bags and Freed had three others, and he was still buying what he needed. Did they really need  _all_ this food?

“Did they eat the whole house empty while you were away?” the masked mage asked, when Freed was finally satisfied after buying a huge chunk of meat from the butcher.

“You sound like you think that’s impossible”, Freed laughed. “There was hardly anything left, I barely managed to make those omelets. I don’t always need to buy this much in one go.”

“With this all, you should be able to feed them at least a week or two.”

“More like a day or two. Laxus and Bicks eat like hungry wolves in the middle of winter and there is a good change Cana and Elfman will join us. Oh no...” Freed sighed.

“What is it?” Rufus asked quickly. “You didn’t hurt yourself?” he asked concerned. Freed was still recovering even though he could move around almost normally. “I knew it, give me two more bags.”

“Relax, I didn’t hurt myself”, Freed assured. “I just realized I forgot to ask Magaidh if she was allergic to something. Or if there is something she really wants like specific tea or coffee or -”

“Rum. She wants rum”, Rufus chuckled.

“Oh, that we can still do. There is a liquor store on our way home”, the swordsman smiled. “Allergies?”

“None. But she doesn’t like meat.”

“I’ll make vegetarian food for her in that case. I’m glad I didn’t use bacon in those omelets.”

“She wouldn’t have complained. She understands that you didn’t know and it’s really rude to complain when someone makes you food. She might be a little domineering and unrefined, but she still has some manners.”

They stopped for a moment to purchase one bottle of rum and then they headed home. Rufus helped to put everything in its place and then they started to do some food.

“This way they can eat when they get hungry”, Freed explained when Rufus was confused why they were doing dinner already. “It’s easy to heat up the food when they want to eat.”

“I see, that way you don’t need to cook all the time during the day and can do something else instead”, Rufus said.

“Exactly. You are probably accustomed to certain rhythm in your meals but that’s because you don’t need to cook it yourself since you have servants in your house.”

“I can adjust”, Rufus smiled peeling the carrots. “If this works for you the best, that is the way we are going to do it.”

Freed smiled and he started to roast the meat.

“If Magaidh says it’s okay, I think I might do some training today”, he said.

“You shouldn’t yet push yourself too hard”, Rufus said and he dropped the potatoes in the big kettle and filled it with water, adding some salt.

“I need to start training or I will never heal.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I should start with fencing.”

“Maybe I can help you with that”, Rufus smiled and Freed was surprised.

“You can?” he asked.

“Yes. Fencing is something most of the gentlemen know at least at some level in the society my family is part of. So of course I have been taught to fence as well. I can be your opponent.”

“That sounds like a plan”, Freed chuckled. “Let’s hope Magaidh has nothing against the idea of training a little.”

“Where did you learn fencing?” Rufus asked curiously.

“I’m self-taught. You probably had a real teacher, if I’m right?”

“Yes. But I never really felt like fencing was for me so I only took lessons for three years.”

“That is quite a long time. Do you keep your skills up?”

“Sometimes. Enough that I should give you a good adversary”, Rufus smirked and Freed laughed. Seriously, Rufus was always so confident about his skills. It was actually kinda nice in an odd way, it somehow… Relaxed Freed.

 

After the lunch they talked with Magaidh. She gave Freed a permission to start training, but not yet nothing too hard.

So now Freed was guiding Rufus to one of the Thunder Legion’s favourite training spots near the beach. They were far enough from the town so there was no disturbances.

“This place looks nice”, Rufus said looking around. The ground was firm even though the sea was so close and there were lots of open space for them to move. 

“It is”, Freed smiled and he put his bag down. “It took time to walk here but it’s all worth it. No-one lives nearby and hardly anyone wants to walk through that forest to get here so there’s only the two of us.”

“I like that”, Rufus purred pulling Freed closer. “Just us. All alone, in the beach...”

“Keep your pants on, we’re here for training”, Freed laughed making Rufus pout.

“Magaidh has a bad influence on you”, he muttered but let go of Freed.

“I believe she would counter that by saying you’re just horny. Come on, let’s start so we can get a good workout done”, Freed chuckled.

Freed had lend his old sword for Rufus and of course he was using his own.

“I should probably warn you, I was pretty good at fencing”, Rufus smirked taking his stage.

“Oh really?” Freed chuckled, amused by that overflowing confidence. “Well, go easy on me then, will you?”

“Of course, dear. I would never hurt you”, Rufus grinned. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Alright, guess we should start then”, Freed nodded and they raised their rapiers.

Rufus had never seen Freed using his sword, so he had no idea was he more defensive or aggressive in his moves. Was he waiting for him to make the first move? He narrowed his eyes. No, Freed was a strong man with quick reflexes, he could make the first move if he wanted. Did he want to see how -

The memory mage jolted and his eyes widened when suddenly Freed was already jumping towards him. He quickly went defensive and was ready to take the hit with his sword. There was a piercing sound when metals were clanging against each other.

Two more hits and Rufus felt how his sword was shoved from his hand forcefully. Next he lost all the air from his lungs when a strong shoulder hit him in the chest and he crashed on the ground, gasping air.

“Oh my”, Freed chuckled smugly, looking at the astonished blond sitting on the ground panting heavily. “You said you were ready. What happened?” Freed smirked. Oh yes, he loved it when he saw that stunned face. “I think you might have… Taken me too lightly?”

“You’re a lot stronger than you look”, Rufus laughed. “I’m impressed.”

“Thank you”, Freed smiled. “I knew from the start you would be really careful with me so I had a perfect opportunity to make a fast aggressive first strike. Your overconfidence did the rest, since you obviously thought that just because you may have had lessons in fencing, you would be better than me who had no-one to teach me.”

“You caught me, dear”, Rufus chuckled and he stood up, dusting his clothes. “I’m ashamed to admit it but it seems I really did let myself to slip thinking like that. You’re sharp as always.”

“Maybe I didn’t have a teacher, but I have trained a lot and I have competed against Erza more than I can count. Now _I’m_ warning _you_ , if you wont take me seriously, you _will_ hurt tomorrow”, Freed smirked with challenging twinkle in his turquoise eyes.

“I guess I then just need to do my best, darling”, Rufus purred taking his sword again.

 

For couple of hours they trained and Rufus was more than impressed of Freed’s skills. How many times was he shoved off his feet during their training? No matter what he did or how strongly he held the hilt of his sword, Freed always managed to make him lose his grip.

Finally they just sat on the sand, drinking water and trying to catch their breath.

“I’m sure that’s enough for one day”, Rufus smiled. They had to take off their coats long time ago and they were nicely folded on top of Freed’s bag. “Magaidh told you to take it easy still.”

“I know”, Freed nodded. “After weeks of just lounging around even this feels like my muscles are burning”, he laughed. “I think I might have more than one sore muscle tomorrow.”

“That is no good”, Rufus purred and he put his hands on Freed’s shoulders, rubbing them. “With a good massage we should avoid that.”

Freed let out a moan when those long fingers tenderly caressed his shoulders. It felt so good. Rufus really was good at massaging.

“Maybe I should start doing this to you every night”, Rufus said after a while. “Since you’re obviously enjoying this so much.”

“You’d spoil me really quick”, Freed laughed.

“I love spoiling you, dear”, Rufus purred leaning against Freed’s back. “As much as I possibly can”, he chuckled kissing Freed’s neck, making him shiver.

“If you really want… I guess I have nothing to complain”, he said with a smile.

Rufus smiled and leaned his chin against Freed’s shoulder and for a while they did nothing more than just admired the wiev to the sea. Somewhere far there were little island, far enough so they couldn’t even see it well. Sometimes a seagull or two let out a shriek and the waves kept whooshing against the sand and rocks.

“This feels nice”, Freed hummed closing his eyes.

“Yes”, Rufus smiled wrapping his arms around the rune mage’s chest better. “There’s something really peaceful sitting on a beach and just listening the sea.”

“You’re right. Though, you should see this beach when the sun sets. It’s like the whole shoreline is covered with golden dust and the sea is like liquid fire.”

“That sounds like a beautiful sight.”

“It is. If you’re really lucky, there might not be a single cloud and the sky is filled with warm orange colour.”

“We should stay.”

Freed looked at Rufus.

“We can’t stay”, he chuckled. “It takes too much time to walk back to the town and it is not wise to walk through that forest at night, when only you can use magic.”

“So let’s stay the whole night”, Rufus purred making Freed blush slightly. “We know how to make a shelter, or are there any caves nearby?”

“Um… No, I guess not”, Freed said.

“Then we can build a shelter from the leaves and branches. Wouldn’t that be romantic?” Rufus chuckled, caressing Freed’s cheek with his long fingers. “We could lay there together, watch how the sun sets… And when it’s dark, we can admire the stars in the sky.”

“We don’t have blankets”, Freed reminded. “And it will get cold at night here.”

Rufus sighed and he straightened himself.

“Alright”, he said with a smile. “We can go home. You’re right, we should have brought some camping equipments with us if we wanted to stay”, he said and stood up.

Freed stood up as well and dusted his pants, looking at Rufus who went to take his coat. He hoped he didn’t hurt his feelings… He sighed to himself when thinking about how much Rufus put up for their relationship. Yet he felt like he did nothing in return. He knew that Rufus didn’t want to make him feel like he was obliged to do something in return, but Freed wished he could do at least something.

“Ah… You know...” the swordsman suddenly said before he even realised.

“Hmm?” Rufus asked looking at him curiously.

“Well… We’re not that far from Hargeon, actually”, Freed said and his cheeks started to slightly burn. “I believe it’s just as far as Magnolia from here… Or it might even be closer and it is starting to get late”, he muttered.

Rufus looked at his boyfriend who stood there, arms folded, trying so hard not to care about the flush in his cheeks or like what he tried to suggest was not that big of a deal.

The memory mage chuckled mischievously. Freed was just so adorable!

“Is that so?” he smirked stepping beside the rune mage. “Are you thinking that maybe we should head to the Hargeon instead of Magnolia?”

“Only if you want”, Freed assured looking away. “There are lots of hotels or taverns there, we could stay there.”

“It has been a long time since I visited Hargeon last time”, Rufus purred. “It could be nice. But what about others at home?”

“You have your communicator lacrima, don’t you?”

“Yes, I could call to Magaidh and explain that we decided it would be the best if we stay one night at Hargeon”, Rufus smiled jovially. “Will your team be okay with it?”

“I believe so”, Freed smiled and he took his coat. “I don’t think they have nothing against it as long as they know everything is okay and where we are.”

“That is good to know”, Rufus smiled and he took Freed’s bag. “Then, to the Hargeon we go”, he smirked and took Freed’s hand on his own. “We have to find a hotel with the best sea view so we can admire the sunset.”

“Just don’t go overboard, we don’t need anything too fancy or expensive”, Freed noted.

“Just leave everything to me.”

“You’re going to look for something fancy and expensive...”

“Anything for my sweet darling.”


	14. Chapter 14

They arrived at the Hargeon in a good time before sunset. They had more than enough time to find a place where to spend their night.

“I actually know one nice place”, Freed smiled as they walked through the busy main street that was full of different shops.

“Really?” Rufus hummed and he looked around curiously.

“It’s not far from here. It is a nice little tavern. Not much space but really comfortable.”

“What about the view?”

“It’s okay. You can see the docks well and the sea.”

“That’s not enough”, Rufus decided. “I don’t want to admire the sunset through between the ships.”

“Fine”, Freed huffed. “You spoiled rich boy”, he smirked making Rufus snap his glare at him.

“If I were you, I would watch out what I slip out between those beautiful lips”, he warned, but with a playful chuckle and touched Freed’s lips with his finger. “This spoiled rich boy might reserve us a beautiful suite from most exclusive hotel in this town with own little garden.”

“Scary”, Freed grinned.

“And in that garden there will be a dog house where you will sleep.”

“Now I’m terrified.”

Rufus chuckled and kissed Freed’s cheek, making the rune mage smile. It was nice that they could joke like this about each other.

“If you want another place, should we ask around a bit?” Freed asked when they kept walking.

“No, I actually know what would be the best place for us to stay”, Rufus smiled.

“I should have known”, Freed huffed. “You probably have some hotel here where you are a regular.”

“No”, Rufus chuckled. “However, when I last time stayed in Hargeon I spend my night at this one place I found quite pleasant. I think we should head there. It is a beautiful hotel with a great view towards the sea.”

“Big and fancy?”

“Maybe.”

“So in the end, you’re going to do exactly what you threatened you would.”

“Well not exactly.”

“Oh?”

“There is no dog house”, Rufus smirked and Freed laughed. Well, if Rufus really wanted to get a room from a better hotel, guess he was okay with it.

 

Freed was confused when they walked along the road to the eastern part of the town, towards the big cliffs.

“So where are we going?” he asked when they stopped by the nice little cable car. “I don’t think I even knew this was here”, he confessed looking at the little car that was waiting in it’s place.

“No wonder”, Rufus smiled. “This cable car is only for that hotel to use. I will make us a reservation and then we can ride with this, just wait a second”, he said and went to talk with the workers who would take care of the cable car and take the reservations and so on.

Freed just huffed and sat down. Seriously, that hotel must be something extraordinary if it even had its own cable car. Was the hotel at the top of the cliff? He had no idea there were buildings there. He just sat there and wondered these things until Rufus returned and he stood up.

“We are ready to go”, the memory mage smiled and he took Freed’s hand on his own. “You’re not scared of highs, are you?”

“No”, Freed chuckled. Oh yeah, Rufus didn’t even know that he could actually fly. But this was nice too, he sat on the chair and one of the workers stepped in the car with them, closing the door.

Car moved slowly and let them plenty of time to admire the big, beautiful old town below. Sun would set in two hours, so there was no rush yet anywhere.

When they got to the top, there were big gates that opened before them, letting them step inside. Freed looked around amazed. It was like a tiny little town itself here.

“What is this place?” he whispered to Rufus as they started walking through the big street. There were lots of people walking around and by the clothes they wore, Freed could tell immediately they were surrounded by rich noblemen, businessmen, famous actors and so on.

“What do you mean? This is the hotel”, Rufus chuckled.

“This whole place is a hotel?”

“Yes, dear. But instead of making one big building with tiny rooms, here are thousands of different sized houses with own gardens and similar.”

“So… It’s like a tiny town where you can rent a house for a night or week or so?”

“Exactly”, Rufus smiled.

“This is… Really luxurious”, Freed huffed. “I really hope you didn’t go this far just because you think I need something like this.”

“No”, Rufus laughed. “Not at all. I know you don’t _need_ it. I think you _deserve_ it”, he smirked wrapping his arm around Freed’s waist, pulling him closer. “I enjoyed my stay here last time so I thought why not stay again? And because this is like our own little vacation, I want it to be perfect.”

“You’re hopeless”, Freed sighed.

“Hopelessly in love, darling”, Rufus smirked.

They continued to the centre of the hotel, where there were the biggest building. Obviously it was the place where they could get keys, there were also all the necessary premises and laundry rooms, as well as wine cellars and kitchen with big cooled rooms full of different kind groceries.

Rufus didn’t even hesitate when he just stepped by the big guards through the front door and Freed followed him, looking around in the beautiful lobby. They were immediately greeted by a small man.

“It is an honour to have you here again, Mr. Lore”, he greeted with so deep bow, Freed was worried if he would snap his spine in half.

“It is nice to see you again, Mr. Griffiths”, Rufus smiled nodding politely. “May I introduce to you, Mr. Justine. Freed, this is Heddwyn Griffiths, the receptionist of the houses in the area where I made the reservation.”

“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Justine”, Griffiths said smiling brightly like a sun to Freed.

“It is nice to meet you too, Mr. Griffiths”, Freed said. So this hotel even had own receptionists to different areas in it?

“Is our house ready?” Rufus asked.

“Yes, everything is ready”, Griffiths nodded and snapped his fingers.

Freed was almost startled when someone grabbed the bag he was carrying.

“The bellboy will show you the way to your house”, Griffiths said and he gave the key to Rufus. “I hope your stay here is pleasant.”

“I’m sure of it, Mr. Griffiths”, Rufus smiled.

“Please take contact immediately if there is anything you need.”

“We will, thank you”, Rufus said nodding and Freed followed the gesture, then they turned to follow the bellboy.

They stepped outside and started to walk along the road towards the sea.

“So where is our house?” Freed finally asked curiously.

“Of course it’s near the precipice so we have the absolute best view to the sea”, Rufus said. “It’s not a big house if you’re worried about that”, he chuckled.

“That’s good to hear”, Freed huffed.

The arrived at one of the beautiful gates that were absolutely useless if someone wanted to get through it. The bellboy opened the gate and let them in first, following them and closed the gate. Freed looked around more now. The yard was small but beautiful, filled with flowerbeds and there were some trees also.

Freed sighed to himself when he saw the house. He was waiting something more like a small cottage but this actually was a full size house. Rather nice house, he had to admit it when they got closer.

Rufus opened the door and let Freed step in. Then he took care of the tip and the bag, while Freed looked around.

“Do you like it?” the memory mage asked.

“It is really nice around here”, Freed nodded.

The living room and the kitchen were combined and the space was huge. There were big soft couches and big fireplace just beside them. There were one door that obviously led to the big bathroom with glorious marble bathtub, big enough for two as well as the shower. Just beside the front door there were stairs that led to the loft above the kitchen. He could imagine a huge king-sized bed and everything.

But all in this house was left in shade by the enormous windows that covered the whole wall on the side of the living room, where you could see the sea.

“Amazing”, Freed said almost breathlessly, walking towards the windows.

The view was unbelievable. He could see so far, even over the little islands further from Hargeon. And when he turned his head, he saw the whole town.

“I hope you like it”, Rufus whispered in Freed’s ear, making the rune mage feel shiver in a good way.

“I do”, he nodded with a smile. “I really do.”

“Good”, Rufus purred and he grabbed the handle in one of the windows and Freed didn’t even notice earlier there were a door to the terrace.

They stepped outside and Freed smiled when he saw two comfortable chairs, just waiting of someone to sit on them and admire the view. There were more flowers in this side of the garden and also a little fireplace.

“No wonder rich people like to come here”, Freed laughed. “View like this, it’s worth to pay so you can see this.”

“And it looks only better when the sun sets”, Rufus smiled. “This is one of the best areas in this hotel, but this is not one of the biggest houses. I figured you would probably only get mad at me if I reserved a huge cottage to us.”

“Your hunch was right”, Freed chuckled. “What on earth would we need that much space for? Even this is more than enough for us. You could have gotten us a house half of this size and that would still be more than enough.”

“Just let me treat you”, Rufus smiled kissing Greenette’s cheek lovingly. “I want to spoil you.”

“I guess it’s okay for time to time”, Freed smiled.

“And this place has a high quality security measures, so no-one can surprise us just like that. We can completely relax here and enjoy our peace.”

“I like that idea”, Freed smirked kissing Rufus, who more than happily returned the gesture. “We still have one hour and a half before the sunset. Should we walk around and see the sights?”

“If you want”, Rufus smiled.

 

They walked around the hotel area and stopped at one of the coffee houses to have small snacks and tea. Freed did his best not to stare too much but he couldn’t help but look around curiously, trying to spot if he saw anyone he could recognize. At least he knew few actors that walked past them and Rufus pointed out some of the noblemen for him.

“I don’t know that much about people in this high society”, Freed confessed as they slowly started to head back to their house. “I’m from the streets myself after all so how could I know? And I don’t read that much about celebrities.”

“I understand”, Rufus smiled grabbing Freed’s hand on his own.

He had noticed that someone was carefully following them. But he knew it was nothing dangerous. He just tried to keep Freed’s attention in everything else so he wouldn’t notice the third wheel shadowing them.

“There’s still some time before the sunset, do you want to take a shower?” the blonde offered, making Freed blush. “Not together”, Rufus laughed.

“Oh… Yes, of course”, Freed said and now he felt himself stupid. Of course Rufus didn’t mean it like that!

“Unless you want to”, Rufus purred mischievously and the red colour in Freed’s cheeks darkened.

“No, I think I’m fine just going by myself”, he assured.

“Alright. You can use everything you find in the bathroom and there are yukatas for us to use, so we can send our clothes to the laundry room. They will send them back in the morning and until then we can use the spare clothes from the closets.”

“It has been a while since I last time wore an yukata”, Freed said. “With that, it really feels like this is a vacation”, he chuckled.

“That is good to hear”, Rufus smiled and they opened the gate to their garden.

“But you can take the shower first”, Freed insisted. “You’re the one who got us this place so it is only fair.”

“Alright, if you really insist”, Rufus smiled.

He quickly glanced towards the road, but saw no-one. But he knew someone was there, eagerly but without a sound just waiting for something to happen. He smirked with a twinkle of mischievousness in his dark green eyes and grabbed his hands around Freed suddenly.

Freed got surprised when Rufus just suddenly kissed him, without any warning or anything. And it was a possessive kiss. But he still liked it and he pulled his hands around Rufus as well, softly caressing his blond hair. He felt a tongue, silently asking permission to enter his mouth and he gladly let it enter.

For a moment they just stood there, caressing each other and studying the depths of their mouths. Freed felt how slowly the other mage’s hand slipped lower and lower on his back, stopping just under his belt but not yet clearly touching his bottom.

Finally they had to separate from the kiss, panting slightly.

“What was that for?” Freed smirked and Rufus laughed.

“Just wanted to kiss you”, he smiled poking Freed’s nose. “Who wouldn’t want to kiss such an angel-like creature like you?”

“You’re seriously hopeless”, Freed chuckled and Rufus opened the door to the house.

From behind the relatively low rock fence, a yellow tuft of hair suddenly sprung up as the owner of it didn’t need to hide anymore, and an excited whisper said:

“ _Cooooool_!”

 


	15. Chapter 15

Freed shut down the shower and stepped out, taking the towel that was hanging on a hook. Wow, these towels were really soft. He smiled and dried his hair enough so it wouldn’t drip water everywhere and then he pulled out the yukata that was ready for him. He wrapped it around him and tied the belt, ready to step outside the bathroom.

He looked around and smiled, noticing Rufus was already at the terrace, sitting on a chair so he opened the glass door and stepped outside as well.

“Did you enjoy the shower?” the blond man smiled looking at the rune mage.

“Yes, it was really soothing”, Freed nodded and he sat down on the other chair.

Sun had started to slowly set, turning the sky orange.

“I have to admit, this is even better place to admire sunset than in that beach”, Freed admitted.

“Don’t say that”, Rufus smiled pulling out two glasses under the little table. “This is just one of the many good places where to admire it”, he said and opened a bottle of wine, pouring it to the glasses.

“You even ordered some wine for us”, Freed smirked. “How sweet of you.”

“But you only get this one glass”, Rufus chuckled. “I don’t want you to pass out.”

“That’s fine with me”, Freed smiled and they clinked their glasses.

It was really nice, talk this and that while watching the sunset. The clouds burned red and the sea was both dark and bright, glimmering like there were millions and millions of diamonds in it’s dark depths.

“So, you were stuck with Master Sting in that wall for the whole night?” Freed asked amused as Rufus was telling one of their old missions when they were younger and not that experienced yet. Of course he couldn’t tell everything about the mission but something.

“Yes, that paste was definitely more sticky than we even thought”, Rufus laughed slightly embarrassed as he recalled that moment. “It is not fun to hang almost completely upside down, not able to move even a finger. And we couldn’t yell to get help, since we definitely didn’t want anyone to see us.”

“How did you escape then?”

“Rogue and Orga found us in the morning. That is the only time I have heard Rogue laugh that loudly”, Rufus chuckled. “And of course they also scolded us, but we deserved it. We were way too careless and didn’t find out enough information about our opponent. That man really beat us up and left us out there like a couple of flies stuck in the spiderweb.”

Freed laughed when he imagined Rufus and Sting stuck in a sticky paste in a wall, upside down and how Rogue and Orga appeared there. They must have felt utterly humiliated.

“It was not an easy task for them to get us down”, Rufus said. “Especially without cutting our hair. But somehow we finally managed to do that and I can tell you, I have never spend more time in the bath than then, trying to scrub that paste off.”

“Well, learning the teamwork, it takes time”, Freed laughed.

“Oh? So I guess there are some stories about the Thunder Legion’s blunders as well?” Rufus grinned looking at Freed and he leaned his chin at the palm of his hand. “I would love to hear something, dear.”

“No, I’m not going to tell you”, Freed denied chuckling. “I don’t want to hear you laughing at me for the rest of my life.”

“Hmm… If you really don’t want to tell me, that’s fine”, Rufus said and Freed nodded. “I understand. When we return back to Magnolia, I can talk with Bickslow about this matter.”

“It was our second mission together with Bicks and Ever”, Freed immediately started. He did NOT want Rufus to hear Bickslow’s version of any of their stories. “Bickslow was just running around, not thinking at all what he did and Ever was convinced that she would do so much better without us slowing her down. I did my best to just keep everything together and come up with somekind of a strategy. I will not go into details, but it all ended with all three of us wrapped in ropes and hanging on a tree near Fairy Tail gates and… Uh… Covered in yellow paint and feathers...”

“Oh my”, Rufus said surprised. “How did that happen? Did you annoy some rival Guild?”

“We happened to come across with some older members of other mage guild”, Freed nodded. “Bickslow couldn’t of course resist to irritate them and Ever was super arrogant.”

“Only they irritated them?”

“Uh… I _might_ have compared them to the snails… And _maybe_ mentioned something about how they dressed, thus the paint and feathers. They were close to dress up me and Bickslow in dresses, but they couldn’t find any, thank you Mavis for that...”

“I definitely would have loved to see that”, Rufus laughed and Freed blushed slightly.

“Of course you would have”, he said crossing his arms. “Now were even, don’t you dare go ask more stories from Bickslow or Ever.”

“Hmm? Was that a threat?” Rufus smirked. “And what would be my punishment if I ask them?”

“I’ll figure something out”, Freed promised with a small devious grin. “You can count on me”, he said and Rufus chuckled.

They stayed outside until the sun set and it was getting dark. Stars filled the sky and Freed smiled.

“I think one of the best parts of camping out is when you can just lay there and watch the stars”, he said.

“I think that too”, Rufus smiled.

“Hargeon is usually well lit even at the night so you don’t see that much stars, but here it’s like were in the middle of a desert, admiring the beautiful starry sky.”

They sat there a while longer, until a slightly cold breeze made them shiver and it was definitely time to go inside. When they arrived, there were already fire burning happily in the fireplace.

“I guess they use magic to make it lit up every night at the same time”, Freed pondered.

“They use lots of magic here”, Rufus nodded. “This house is surrounded by soundproof walls, even though we can’t see it so we have complete peace and can’t hear the neighbours.”

“That does sound convenient”, Freed grinned.

“I did not order all this to happen”, Rufus assured smirking. “I swear, this is all part of the house already. But it is romantic, don’t you think? Feels like it’s just the two of us somewhere far where no-one can disturb us.”

“It is”, Freed smiled. “Was that your aim all along?”

“Who knows?” Rufus purred softly. “It’s not yet too late, do you want to sit down on the couch?” he offered, motioning towards the couch.

”I believe there is no harm doing that”, Freed chuckled and they sat down.

When Freed wasn’t watching, Rufus smirked rather beast like when looking at his green haired angel. This was a perfect place for them to get to know each other better, no-one could just walk in and interrupt. Oh god, how long has he been craving to see Freed fully naked, those gorgeous cheeks flushed red, green hair open and all around the mattress, mixing with his blond hair... In his fantasies those beautiful turquoise eyes were half open, stare hazed because of all lust and pleasure... Lips partly open, ready to moan his name at any second...

Rufus swallowed and he really needed to stop, or he would get too aroused to cover it with his yukata. But the mere thought how only those simple clothes were covering them both... If he opened Freed’s belt, that yukata would come easily open, he could drop it on the floor just like that...

“Rufus?” Freed said looking at the memory mage who seemed to be deep in his thoughts. But he snapped awake when he heard Freed’s call.

“Yes?” he asked. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“I wonder what you were thinking, being that distracted”, Freed chuckled.

But he was pretty sure he knew what Rufus was thinking. This place really was good to do something they couldn’t do at home, since there were others living there. It was really exciting thought, but also at the same time slightly scary. This was new to him, all of it. He had never done anything more than just kissing.

Of course he had read – a lot – how things worked. He loved those super cheesy romantic crap stories as Laxus and others would describe, he loved everything about them. He knew it wasn’t something someone would believe that the Captain of the Thunder Legion would do, so he kept it as a secret. His team of course knew because they were so close. And they didn’t tease him about it, not anymore when Freed beat the living crap out of Bickslow when he threatened that he would take one of Freed’s books and read it aloud in the Guild.

He didn’t care a little humiliation, but no-one, not even his team members who were practically his family would take Freed the Dark’s sappy romantic books and threaten him to do what was told or else his secret would be revealed. Because Freed the Dark would definitely fight back and hard. And it would hurt. Very much.

“I cannot lie to you”, Rufus purred. “Of course I was thinking about you”, he smirked and gently brushed the green hair behind Freed’s ear, revealing his other eye too. “You’re always in my thoughts.”

“Really?” Freed chuckled. “And what were I doing in your thoughts?” he asked with a twinkle of mischievousness in his eyes that Rufus could not misread. It was a promise that he could come closer.

“Ohh, lots of things”, he purred with a smoky voice, approaching the rune mage slowly, until their faces were only inches apart. “So many things, and I liked it very, very much”, he whispered, softly placing his hand on Freed’s thigh and he felt how he slightly shivered. But not in a bad way, oh no, he could feel how Freed was actually excited. He knew the swordsman could easily kick him through the wall even without his magic if his approaching was unwelcome.

But he didn’t, so Rufus took that as a permission to come closer, until they were kissing. It started gently, almost innocent, but it quickly turned more hungry and lustful. Rufus grinned slightly in the kiss when Freed carefully pulled his arms around him, feeling his back muscles under the yukata and with the other hand he brushed blond hair, cautiously so he wouldn’t pull any strands.

Rufus leaned forward more and that forced Freed to fall on the couch on his back, against the fluffy pillows. The kiss broke and Freed looked at those dark green eyes, almost trembling when he could see all that ferocious desire. It certainly was thrilling. Freed panted slightly, when Rufus attacked his neck with his lips and tongue. 

The memory mage slowly studied every inch of Freed’s neck, wanting to find every spot that would make the rune mage squirm and inhale sharply. He wanted to make him moan, hearing a small trembling whimper that made him smirk when he obviously found a sensitive spot. Yes, he really wanted to mark that spot. He might not be a dragon slayer or similar, he had heard they had their own little traits, but still he really was one damn possessive man and he wanted to mark what was his.

With slight humming he licked the pale skin and scraped it with his teeth, then sucking the spot so he could make a hickey so everyone could see Freed was his and his only. Only he could touch him this way, make him tremble because of lust and pleasure, hear him moan and whimper, get closer to him and he caressed his thigh and hips. Slowly his hands moved towards the belt, as he really wanted to open it and let that yukata fall off. Freed didn’t need it.

His long fingers grabbed the belt, starting to unfasten it slowly as there was no hurry and he didn’t want Freed to back off if he moved too fast. He wanted him to feel safe. He might be possessive and definitely dominant – he loved being dominant – but Rufus got no pleasure of this at all if this scared Freed even a little bit. He would never hurt the green haired mage at any way.

The knot of the fabric belt was almost undone and Rufus was already hard as hell, when suddenly they both jolted when they heard a sound. It was Rufus’ communicator lacrima. Rufus glared at the table almost murderously, but turned his head back.

“Rufus”, Freed panted. “It’s your communicator lacrima.”

“I know”, Rufus murmured. “Ignore it.”

“No, you know very well you have to answer it”, Freed said frowning, pulling Rufus’ hands off of his belt. “You can’t ignore it.”

Rufus whined with great amount of disappointment, but he knew Freed was right. He straightened himself, making sure his yukata was still properly around him and stomped towards the table. He was really hurting because he was so hard so whoever was the caller, he would not bother to act nice. Everyone in Sabertooth knew Rufus might be a gentleman, but if you disturbed him when he had a really good time, he would yell even for Sting and wouldn’t give a shit if he was the Master of the Sabertooth. Well, it might help that they were good friends so in these things they were not so formal.

He took his communicator lacrima and went outside, closing the door after him. He saw Freed getting up from the couch and it really disappointed him. This could end their night before it even started...

“What?” Rufus grunted opening the lacrima.

“Grumpy again, Rufus?” he heard a familiar voice. Oh f...

“Are you _kidding_ me?!” Rufus snarled furiously.

“Don’t you yell at me, you raccoon!” Magaidh just snapped back.

“How? How do you do that?!” Rufus asked. “Every. Single. Time!”

“Oh? Did I again interrupt something?” Magaidh just asked smugly. “My, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re not, I know it”, Rufus growled.

“Fine, I’m not. You really are pissed. I’m guessing you were finally getting your cute boyfriend in the right mood.”

“ _Why_ are you so determined to interrupt every time when I’m approaching Freed? Do you have somekind of a radar to make sure I have absolutely no chance to make any progress with him?”

“Just lucky, that’s all. But while you’re there enjoying your vacation, I actually have some work to do so I decided you’re going to help me.”

“What do you need?” Rufus asked rubbing his face.

“What a nice boy you are! Helping a damsel in distress! I need some supplies and since you’re already at Hargeon, write everything down and go hunt them for me.”

“Are you telling me you don’t trust my memory?”

“I’m telling you to write everything down so you will write everything down!”

Rufus muttered something and stepped back inside. Freed looked at him confused, but said nothing as he just did something at the kitchen. Rufus took a sheet of paper, a pen and sat down. He murmured something while writing everything down what Magaidh needed.

“That’s a lot of supplies”, he finally said when he put the pen down.

“I’m well aware of it.”

“Can’t you find these from Magnolia?”

“Most of it, yes.”

“So why do I need to bring them from here?”

“Because I have other things to do”, Magaidh purred. “I’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Why are you so busy?”

“I have a date, don’t forget anything!” Magaidh reminded and before Rufus could say a word, she cut the connection of the communicator lacrima.

Rufus put he device down and he really, really,  _really_ wanted to destroy something.

“That... _woman_!” he shouted, ready to pull his blond hair. “She’s driving me crazy!”

“I’m guessing it was Magaidh?” Freed chuckled. “Does she need something?” he asked looking at the list.

“Yes, I have to collect all these things because she wants to spend her day on a date”, Rufus huffed irritated.

“A date?” Freed said surprised. “She didn’t happen to mention with who?”

“No.”

“I really hope it’s Mirajane”, Freed smiled. “Somehow, I think they might actually make a really good couple.”

Rufus sighed and rubbed his temples. Magaidh really was one of a kind...

“Here you go”, Freed said and he put a plate in front of the memory mage.

“What is this?” he asked now curiously looking at the stew.

“Something light for a dinner”, Freed smiled sitting down on the other side of the table. “I hope you like it.”

Rufus took the spoon and they started eating. Of course the food was good and he did compliment it. But he was still really disappointed of how things took turn.

Freed seemed to notice that and he blushed slightly.

“After the dinner, I think it’s best for us to go in bed”, he said. “If we need to spend tomorrow walking around the town looking for those supplies and take a train back to Magnolia.”

“Yes, I think you’re right”, Rufus nodded.

“Umm... And... Bed really is more comfortable place than a couch... I noticed we have a luxurious king-sized bed here”, Freed said and Rufus snapped his stare at him.

Was Freed maybe suggesting...?

The memory mage chuckled and that made Freed blush more, as the rune mage just stared his plate like there were something really interesting in the stew.

“I made sure we had only the best here”, Rufus purred, again with that bestial tone like freed was a little prey he was approaching. Except he was not after food, but something else… Maybe this night wasn’t over yet.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I’m so sorry it took this long to update this story, I really am sorry. Second, SMUT ALERT! Yeah, you probably shouldn’t read this if you don’t like smut. I’ll try to write the next chapter soon for those who don’t want to read this one.  
> Thanks for all the comments, kudos and reading this story! ^^

 

After the dinner, they headed towards the stairs. Freed smiled when looking around in the loft.

“If that is not a king-sized bed, I don’t know what is”, he laughed looking at the large bed. “How did they even get it inside this house?”

“That is a mystery where we don’t need the answer”, Rufus purred wrapping his arms around Freed. “Let’s just enjoy that it is here for us tonight.”

“You’re right”, Freed smiled touching Rufus’ cheek with his slender fingers.

They sat down on the bed.

“I swear, if anyone will call me again tonight, I’m going to unleash a spell that brings pain more horrible than hellfires for those who dare to interrupt us”, Rufus smirked and Freed laughed. Of course Rufus was only joking. Or at least half of him was joking, Freed knew that Rufus was a man who liked to say a threat that was exaggerated, but some part of it was always still true.

“It’s getting late, I don’t think anyone would want to bother you anymore at this hour”, the rune mage smiled. “Only Magaidh, but I’m sure she won’t call second time anymore.”

“I do hope so”, Rufus chuckled, gently slipping his hand on Freed’s waist and rubbed his hips. “Or she will regret it”, he smirked and kissed Freed, who smiled and wrapped his hands around the memory mage’s neck.

Freed was surprised how easy it was to restore that feeling from before they were interrupted. He admitted it was not quite the same, but that didn’t matter. He yelped when suddenly Rufus pushed him down on the mattress.

“I noticed you easily get more aggressive in your moves when you get in the mood”, Freed chuckled looking at the blond, who now hovered over him.

“I can’t deny it”, Rufus smiled. “You should know that I’m a really dominant partner. And I don’t mean that I’m the one always topping, no, I just love it when I have all the power of what is going to happen next”, he purred deviously and that actually made Freed feel good shivers crawling on his skin. “You know I’m possessive. But you need to know that if you surrender yourself for me… I’ll never let go”, Rufus whispered kissing Freed’s neck, near the mark he had left earlier. “But you still have all the power to stop me. If you don’t want something, I will always listen and respect your choice. I would never force you into anything.”

“That is good to know”, Freed smiled. “You tend to get a little creepy with your possessive behaviour sometimes.”

“You never need to be scared of me”, Rufus assured nibbing Freed’s earlobe, making the rune mage wince slightly. “I would rather die than purposely hurt you”, he said, letting his hands travel around Freed’s body that was – sadly – still covered with the yukata.

“I believe you”, Freed smiled and he moaned, when those lips caressed his neck again. He felt how Rufus’ other hand gently touched his knee, like carefully exploring and the hand slowly moved up under his yukata, up his thigh and it felt really good. Rufus’ fingers were like warm water touching his skin and he trembled when those fingers slowly explored more, not yet still touching his crotch, but finding their way on his hip.

Freed groaned when Rufus let his other hand stay in his hip and with the other hand he gently opened his yukata more on his chest. His lips brushed over his collarbone, making him wince and Rufus smirked. He would remember that spot. He kept kissing the pale skin, here and there, slowly opening the yukata more.

“Oh god!” Freed gasped when suddenly he felt a lick on his nipple and if he wasn’t already getting hard, that definitely did it. It was so intense!

“Oh...” Rufus chuckled smugly. “It seems you’re really sensitive here...”

“I didn’t even know it myself”, Freed panted and Rufus licked his lips when looking those red cheeks and how Freed’s green hair was all over the mattress.

Yes! Just like in his dreams! He had waited for so long, he would kill whoever dared to try and interrupt! He would take all of that innocence, make Freed just as corrupted as he was and convince him that there would never be any other man more suitable for him than Rufus.

He smirked deviously and attacked the nipple again with his lips, making Freed almost howl with pleasure and his back arched. Rufus really was aggressive! And he was almost shocked to realize he actually liked it very, very much.

“I’ll try not to do anything too… Wild, since it is your first time”, the memory mage promised his voice low. “But I’m trusting you to say no to me if I do something you don’t want.”

“I will”, Freed nodded.

“Good. Now… I’ve been waiting for this”, Rufus whispered with a ferocious smile and his fingers snatched the fabric belt in their grasp.

He opened the knot, sliding his other hand up and down Freed’s hip and thigh. He gently moved the belt, then planted his hand between the yukata to the greenette’s gorgeous sixpack, feeling those hard muscles. Then he slowly moved his hand and opened the yukata with that move.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Rufus let his eyes linger in that body, eating Freed up with his stare.

“What?” Freed chuckled, maybe slightly embarrassed when Rufus was staring him so intensely. “It’s not like you see me naked for the first time.”

“This is totally different than when I helped you in to the shower”, Rufus purred, brushing his fingers across those abs, slowly approaching the hardness that was waiting. So beautiful. “I did my best not to stare then, because I thought it would make you feel uneasy. But now I have a permission to look at you as much as I want. I can touch you as much as I want”, he smirked. “And I like what I’m seeing and feeling. I love everything about you, darling.”

Freed blushed more.

“Even with the scars?” he asked.

“Everything”, Rufus whispered, bending down and he gently kissed the scarred area on Freed’s side. “Of course it is really sad that this had to happen to you, it is just not right. Nobody should ever do something this brutal to you”, he said, touching the wound with his fingers softly. It had healed well but it would still take time before Freed would be back to normal. And the scars would remain.

“I wish I could do something about them”, Freed huffed.

“Everything happens because of reason”, Rufus assured letting his hand slowly approach Freed’s hardness, but not yet touching it. He wanted to study his beautiful rune mage first with his eyes now that he could do it. “Maybe it had to happen so we could meet and have time to get to know each other.”

“I like more that idea than that I was meant to be taken somewhere to give my magic for someone so they could use it for bad things”, Freed chuckled. “Are you intending to keep your yukata on?” he asked playfully and Rufus chuckled.

“Of course not”, he assured and positioned himself between Freed’s legs, sitting on his heels and staring at his green haired prey. “Neither one of us has any use of them anymore”, he purred opening his belt.

Freed watched how the blond male took off his yukata, letting it just drop off from his shoulders. Rufus wasn’t even one bit embarrassed to show everything to Freed. No, he was proud of his handsome looks, lean but strong muscles and perfect skin. He wanted Freed to look at him and touch him. He wanted Freed to look at him with lust, craving for his attention so he would give him the pleasure he wanted…

Rufus’ grin widened when he even thought about it and blood rushed down to make him even harder. He really needed to have Freed, so badly.

“If there’s anything at all that you don’t feel comfortable with, just let me know”, he said and bend down faces only inches away from each other. “I want you to feel safe and that you can trust me.”

“Of course”, Freed smiled and lifted his head from the mattress, kissing the blond.

Just for a moment they only kissed gently, just to make them more comfortable before moving on. When Freed started to relax, he touched Rufus’ chest, studying him gently and slowly. Rufus took that as a promise to continue his own exploring and he finally let himself move his hand more below, feeling the soft pubic hair.

Freed tensed for a moment when fingers gently touched his crotch. It felt so… different, but really good when someone else was touching him. Rufus moved his hand, let his fingers to touch him everywhere and tightened his grip slightly. It felt really good, making Freed moan.

“Doesn’t it feel nice when someone else is touching you?” Rufus purred.

“Yes”, Freed nodded.

“You can touch me if you want.”

Freed nodded again and carefully he moved his slightly trembling hand down, caressing Rufus’ skin in its way. The memory mage shifted better and Freed was startled when suddenly his hand touched the hard length. He wouldn’t say that Rufus was a monster by his size, but it still was impressive. He liked it.

“You have no idea how long I have waited for this”, Rufus purred nibbling Freed’s neck. “To feel your touch, to touch you… Maybe...” he smirked and Freed gasped when he pressed himself against him, and he moaned louder than intended when the blond moved his hips. “Yes, this feels really good”, Rufus whispered with a grin, pulling his fingers around them both and rubbed them together.

“That feels amazing”, Freed agreed his eyes shut. Rufus’ grip was so confident and bold, while he was still too timid to do anything. This was new to him so it wasn’t a surprise.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it”, Rufus grinned kissing Freed.

For a moment they only concentrated touching each other with their hands and kissing. Freed really started to feel more relaxed and he wasn’t anymore hesitant to touch Rufus where he wanted. And Rufus liked it when he noticed that Freed was getting more comfortable.

Freed panted when Rufus suddenly let go and he opened his eyes, looking at the memory mage. Rufus stood up from the bed, stepping beside the bag they had brought with them and was looking for something.

“Is something wrong?” Freed asked, leaning against his elbows on the mattress.

“Everything is alright”, Rufus assured with a small chuckle. “Just a moment.”

Soon he straightened himself and returned back to bed. Freed noticed a bottle of lube in his hand and blushed.

“There is no need for us to go further than this if you don’t feel comfortable with it”, Rufus said kissing Freed’s red cheek. “I won’t be mad. I absolutely enjoy my time with you no matter what, don’t you dare to think that I would get mad at you if you want to take things more slowly.”

“I know you won’t”, Freed smiled, running his fingers through those blond strands. “I trust you. I might be a little bit nervous, but I really do want to do more with you”, he smirked.

“That is really nice to hear”, Rufus purred. “So, do you want to top or..?”

“Eh? Oh… Umm… I-I think I’m fine with the way you want”, Freed assured blushing again deeply, making Rufus chuckle.

“I was hoping you would say that”, he whispered in Freed’s ear, leaning closer and that way forcing Freed to lay back on the mattress. “Because I really, really want to own that body of yours, devour it and make you feel so much pleasure you’re going to scream my name”, Rufus purred making Freed shiver. Oh god that sounded so delicious! “You’re going to lose yourself into all of that lust I’m going to bring out of you to the surface”, the blond man promised. “You told me you have read from books how things work, right?” he said.

“Yes”, Freed nodded, already panting slightly because of all those sweet promises Rufus had said.

“Good. I’m going to use one little spell I have memorized that is going to make things at least a little bit easier”, Rufus said. “So we don’t need to go get you to the bathroom cleaned”, he smirked, putting his forehead against Freed’s own, muttering the spell.

Freed could feel the magic, though he couldn’t describe what actually happened. Well, he knew that Rufus used it so he would be clean from the inside of course, but he didn’t feel any different.

“That is going to help us alot”, Rufus smirked.

“I wonder if I could do something like that with my runes too?” Freed chuckled.

“I’m sure that you will find a way”, Rufus smiled.

He opened the bottle and poured a good amount of lube on his fingers. Now Freed started to feel nervous again.

“It’s alright, dear”, Rufus purred pulling him closer and kissed his neck from the new sensitive spot, making Freed gasp. “Just relax and everything will be alright”, Rufus assured.

He moved his leg, using it to make Freed open his own legs more and he slipped his arm down. Freed tensed when he felt a finger, teasing his entrance and then it slipped inside.

“It shouldn’t hurt yet”, Rufus said giving the rune mage a kiss and using his other hand to keep him close. “Just remember to relax, I got you. You can trust me.”

“I-I know”, Freed stuttered, trying to calm himself but he gasped when finger went deeper inside him. Rufus used that moment to kiss him, letting his tongue slip into his mouth.

He gently moved his finger, letting Freed to get used to it before he slowly added the other one and the rune mage tensed again.

“Let’s go slowly”, Rufus whispered his promise, kissing Freed more.

It took time, but finally Freed was loose enough for the third finger and now he cringed. It hurt as he was stretching more, but it also felt surprisingly good. Rufus moved his fingers slowly back and forth and then suddenly.

“Ah!” Freed moaned his back arching and Rufus grinned hungrily when looking at him having that much pleasure because of his touch.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he purred. “You have read about this pleasure many times, I’m sure of it, but it is very different to read about something than actually experience it.”

“It feels really good”, Freed gasped when Rufus touched his prostate again.

“I know, darling”, Rufus smiled kissing him again, and slowly he started scissoring his fingers.

Another moment slid by, until Rufus pulled his fingers out.

“I believe that should do it”, he said and got up. “Are you still ready to continue?”

“We’ve come this far so I’m seriously not going to back off now”, Freed smirked, his cheeks red but he was already more confident with the situation. And he was really, really horny right now and wanted more than just fingers inside him. “I know what to say if something is not alright, so let’s just continue”, he said grabbing Rufus’ blond hair with his hand and pulled him down over him to a kiss. That surprised the memory mage, but hell no was he going to back off! No, he just got more excited! This was a new, beautiful side of Freed, full of lust and need. It was something from Rufus’ daydreams he had always wished to see. And here it was. And he loved it!

He adjusted himself better after adding more lube to cover his length. He gently moved Freed’s leg more and felt how he was trembling. But he would make him feel safe and good. He would prove that there was absolutely no need to fear anything.

Rufus locked his dark green eyes to look at Freed’s face, when he pushed in slowly.

“Relax”, he whispered calmingly, kissing the corner of his lips as the other man gasped. “It’s alright”, he assured, pushing more in.

Finally, after some hisses and moments to calm again, Rufus smiled when he was all in. It felt amazing. Freed was amazing! It was just like in his dreams. It was hard to believe this was actually happening and they could finally be one.

“Oh god”, Freed sighed starting to relax again and finally getting used to the size inside him.

“How do you feel?” Rufus smiled looking at his green haired angel.

“I don’t know how to describe it…” Freed confessed. “It’s good, it’s...”

“Fullness?” Rufus smirked. “It is a surprisingly good feeling, isn’t it?”

“Yes”, Freed chuckled looking at Rufus. “It is. I know I like it very much”, he smiled kissing the memory mage.

“I’m so happy to hear that”, Rufus purred. He carefully pulled himself back and then again in, making Freed moan. Yes, he wanted to hear more of that. He had already noticed Freed was surprisingly vocal, so he wanted to hear as much of his voice as he could.

As Freed got more used to this, Rufus increased the pace more. Quietly he cussed in his mind, as this was feeling too good and he wasn’t sure how long he would last. He had to last at least a little while more! He wanted to make Freed come, he wanted to see him lost in bliss, maybe hear him yell in pleasure and…

Rufus hissed, clenching his jaw. He couldn’t even think of it, feeling the pre-cum dripping. He just had to try and hold it. If he came now, that would end everything too soon!

Freed didn’t even notice Rufus’ struggles, as he was way too lost in his own thoughts, eyes shut tightly. He gasped when suddenly a hand grabbed his length, pumping it and that felt so good. Rufus kissed his neck, shifting for a better position so he would attack Freed’s prostate with every thrust and that made the rune mage moan hard, trying desperately to cling on the memory mage.

It was too intense! He wasn’t used to it, he couldn’t control it. He only could surrender to it. With every thrust, it came significantly harder to try and stop what was inevitable and his back arched and he was panting and sweating.

Too good. He couldn’t take it. He hardly even realised he was yelling Rufus’ name when the pure pleasure took over his body. He came hard, all over their both stomachs as they were so close to each other, panting heavily. It took a moment before Freed finally started to drift back from the highs, opening his eyes.

Rufus was staring at him. He hadn’t even realised when the blond stopped moving. For a slight moment they stared at each other, when Freed blushed deeply.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry”, he said quickly. “I came too soon, I know”, he whined ashamed. He was so embarrassed he could die.

“What?” Rufus asked blinking when he finally snapped back to this world from his thoughts.

“I just couldn’t stop it”, Freed sighed rubbing his reddened face, wanting to crawl under the blankets.

“Freed”, Rufus purred softly. “Look at me”, he said touching the rune mage’s face with his fingers, making him turn his gaze back to him. “I’m really glad you came, because I couldn’t have hold it back any longer”, he confessed and Freed was surprised. “When I heard you yelling my name like that… There was no way I could have hold back anymore”, Rufus chuckled kissing Freed lovingly.

Slowly Rufus pulled himself out and Freed winced slightly and felt how something was dripping out. It felt weird.

“Are you hurt?” Rufus asked laying down next to Freed, tenderly swiping some of the green hair out of Freed’s face.

“No”, Freed chuckled. “But I am tired.”

“I know, darling”, Rufus smiled kissing him.

“It was really amazing”, Freed assured looking at those green eyes. “I just wished I wouldn’t have -”

“Listen to me, dear”, Rufus said touching Freed’s lips making him go silent. “It was your first time. Believe me, first times are never perfect. Usually they are just awkward because everything is so new. And it was a first time for me too, you know? First time with you”, he smiled.

“Oh”, Freed said blinking. He hadn’t even thought it that way.

“Maybe it was a little bit fast, but I’d say that was definitely not a bad experience”, Rufus smirked and Freed laughed.

“It wasn’t”, he assured. “I was really enjoying it.”

“Me too. The best experiences come with someone who you know well and who knows you well.”

“So you’re saying that we should have more sex?” Freed smirked lifting his eyebrow.

“Absolutely”, Rufus chuckled. “Then we get to know each other better and of course sex gets better.”

“Orga was right, you can be really persuasive when you want”, the rune mage laughed. “But now I think I need a shower”, he said. “Then I need some sleep.”

“That’s a good idea. I could probably wash your back?” Rufus offered.

“I would love that”, Freed smiled kissing the memory mage.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Freed woke up in the morning, surprisingly late. He squinted his eyes and looked at the clock on the night stand. It was half past nine already. He yawned silently and smiled laying his hand to pet the blond hair, as Rufus was still sleeping his head on Freed’s chest. Snuggling against him like usually. It was really nice.

Freed smiled when he recalled the last night. It was really something. It definitely was worth coming to this place. Maybe they would visit this place again later, after a year or so? When this whole mess with those mage hunters and all was over? Maybe they could spend more days here, just the two of them…

Freed frowned slightly looking at the ceiling. Those mage hunters. It felt like it had been a long time since they even heard something about them. Or was it just that they had been so busy with other things? It wasn’t actually even that many days ago when they attacked on them, destroying Rufus’ house. This or that, he was really nervous because right now everything seemed a little bit too calm and perfect.

Rufus shifted suddenly and stretched.

“Good morning, dear”, he smiled opening his green eyes and looked at Freed.

“Good morning, Rufus”, Freed chuckled. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“That’s alright. I got to wake up with you by my side, so why should you apologise?” Rufus smirked and he kissed Freed softly. Then he took a glimpse towards the clock. “Almost ten? You really are worn out because of last night”, he chuckled brushing Freed’s hair, making the rune mage blush.

“I just didn’t want to wake you up, since you were sleeping like that”, he assured.

“Of course, sweetheart”, Rufus smiled. “Of course. Can you stand?”

“I believe so, yes”, Freed nodded.

“Good. You can go take a shower if you want, I can make us some breakfast.”

After the shower Freed dried his hair and pulled on new boxers and a shirt. Then he stepped at the kitchen where Rufus was doing their breakfast with his yukata on.

“There you go”, the blond purred when Freed sat down and he gave him the plate. “I like your outfit.”

“I have only a shirt and an underwear on.”

“That’s why I like it”, Rufus smirked brushing his hand against the skin on Freed’s thigh. “I love seeing those long, beautiful, strong legs.”

“Don’t get too excited”, Freed chuckled. “We have a lot of things to do today, remember?”

“I never forget what I don’t want to forget”, Rufus huffed and left to take his own plate. Freed restrained himself from laughing and just started to eat. Rufus didn’t like it one bit if you even joked about him forgetting something. 

 

After the breakfast they cleaned the cabin, made sure they had everything they had brought over and then they returned the key. Mr. Griffiths of course wished to see them again soon and assured that they would always have a place for them here.

For the next four hours they spent at the marketplace, looking for everything on the list Magaidh had gave them. When they finally found the last thing, they almost got late from train but made it just barely.

“Feels somehow surreal to suddenly return back to Magnolia, like it has been at least a week since we left”, Freed laughed as they were sitting down. “Hard to imagine we left only yesterday. So much has happened.”

“Indeed”, Rufus smiled. “Once we’re back, let’s bring everything to your house and then you can go find Magaidh from the Guild if she’s not in the house.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have plans”, Rufus just hummed starting to read the newspaper he had bought earlier. “Nothing you should worry about, darling.”

“You sound like a husband who thinks his wife isn’t strong or wise enough so he could have a proper conversation with her.”

“That is nice to hear, darling.”

“Rufus, are you even listening anymore?”

“Yes, darling. I think you look gorgeous”, Rufus just answered behind his newspaper.

“Now you’re just mocking me”, Freed muttered looking out of the window, hearing how Rufus chuckled.

When the train arrived, they headed straight to their house and noticed it was empty.

“Shouldn’t be that surprised, she said that she had a date today”, Rufus said.

“I’ll ask around a bit when I go to the Guild”, Freed promised.

“Alright, I’ll see you there”, Rufus smiled kissing his adorable rune mage and headed out. Freed could only wonder what that masked man might be planning this time.

Freed walked towards the Guild House and smiled when he saw the familiar sign. It sounded like there were already a party going on, or at least something since he could hear yelling and music and so on from the outside.

The rune mage opened the door and stepped inside, smiling when he saw his guild mates having fun. He looked around and saw the Thunder Legion and Laxus sitting near the bar counter so he headed towards them.

His steps slowed down a bit when the others noticed him and Bickslow and Evergreen both had smirks on their faces.

“So your vacation is over, baby?” Bickslow grinned when he sat down to their table.

“It was not a vacation”, Freed corrected. “We just thought it was better to stay in Hargeon. And it was good that we stayed since Magaidh needed some supplies from there anyway.”

“Sure, sweetie”, Ever chuckled. “And there was absolutely no romance included at all?” she teased, making Freed blush.

“I believe that is the information that should remain as something only me and Rufus know”, he said crossing his arms.

“Oh really? It must have been one hell of a luxury cabin where you stayed, right?” Bickslow smirked.

“Why are you assuming something like that?” Freed asked.

“Was it?”

“Yes, if you must know.”

“And you were all alone and you’re saying that nothing happened, baby?”

“I’m not saying anything”, Freed just stated. “I don’t want to talk about my private matters just like that.”

“We know”, Laxus said. “Does Lore know that?” he asked and there was a small smirk. They knew exactly how private Freed was.

“What? Why are you asking?” Freed asked confused.

Evergreen put the magazine on the table, newest Sorcerer Weekly. What was in the cover made Freed’s eyes widen as big as plates.

There was a picture of him and Rufus, kissing at the porch in front of the cabin they had reserved.

“W-what?!” he shouted taking the magazine and Bickslow and Evergreen were laughing their asses off when seeing his reddened face. “Who took this? Why is it in the magazine?!”

“Oh come on, baby!” Bickslow cackled his ‘babies’ snickering around Freed. “You and Rufus are one of the hottest male mages there are, someone snaps a picture of you two kissing like that and you think that wouldn’t end up in the magazine?”

“B-but… How many has seen this?”

“Including us and our Guild I’d say… Whole Fiore?” Ever grinned.

Freed quickly opened the page where there were writing about him and Rufus. There wasn’t an actual interviews – why would there be? Freed would have turned them down immediately if they asked one – but there were lots of speculations of how they met and how long they might have been dating.

“Oh my god...” Freed whispered his face red as a tomato.

“It seems like you’re off from that list of hot single mages”, Laxus just said taking a gulp of his beer.

“They had no right to publish something like this”, Freed snarled. “Who is behind this?”

“Seems like it was Jason”, Ever smiled. “Didn’t Lucy work with him?”

Freed grumbled something and stood up. He scanned the hall and noticed the blond woman who was talking with Erza and others, then he headed towards them.

“Lucy.”

Lucy lifted her gaze and froze when there was a really, really pissed off looking green haired rune mage just beside her.

“Do you mind telling me how to contact with Jason?” Freed asked calmly, but his eyes promised death to that who was the target of his anger.

“J-Jason?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, the one who works in Sorcerer Magazine.”

“Ooh, so you saw that picture?” Natsu laughed. “Hot stuff!”

“I did see it. And now I would like to discuss about it with Jason a little bit.”

“Well, sure”, Lucy nodded. She made a mental note to herself that she should bring flowers to Jason’s grave later.

After getting the number, Freed stepped outside the Hall and called Jason. He never raised his voice, but it was plain clear that he was not happy about the article nor the picture that was now in the front page of every single Sorcerer Weekly all around Fiore.

But what Jason told him made him jolt. What?

After talking a while more – and making sure that Jason wouldn’t do anything like that again without asking his permission – he shut down the communicator lacrima he had borrowed from Mira. Freed was still very pissed, but not anymore because of Jason.

But because of Rufus.

“I’m going home”, Freed said walking past their table.

“Hey, baby, it’s not that bad”, Bickslow assured when they stood up following their captain. “It’s just a picture! Everyone would have figured it out eventually.”

“I don’t care”, Freed grumbled.

“This whole thing will be forgotten at next week when there is something new again”, Ever said. “We know you’re very private but there is no need to get really mad.”

“He’s private yeah, but what about Lore?” Laxus huffed following the others out from the Guild. “He seems like a guy who wants to get lots of attention.”

“Laxus, you’re not helping”, Ever hissed.

“Just saying”, Laxus shrugged. “Would he care about Freed’s feelings if he had a chance to get in the front cover?”

“What the hell, man? Are you trying to make them break up?” Bickslow huffed.

“I’m just being a realist with this. We don’t know what kind of a man that memory mage really is. He is charming and he knows how to fill someone’s head with his sweet words.”

“To me he really seemed to like Freed a lot, he wouldn’t hurt him purposely”, Ever said. “Everybody wants to have someone who would look at them like Rufus looks at Freed.”

Freed didn’t say a thing, he just stepped inside their house and headed towards the stairs. Rest of the Thunder Legions stayed downstairs with Laxus, worried about their friend.

 

Maybe two hours later the door opened again, revealing Rufus who stepped inside. He was surprised when he saw the others sitting in a living room.

“I thought you would be in the Guild”, he said. He had actually hoped that he could have some private time with Freed.

“But here we are and Freed is upstairs”, Bickslow grinned.

“Alright, I’ll go see him”, Rufus smiled turning towards the stairs.

“Hey, Lore.”

Rufus looked at Laxus who smirked slightly.

“Try not to break yourself when you come back down”, the Thunder God said and made Rufus confused and alarmed.

The memory mage stepped up the stairs and grabbed the handle of the first door, opening it. Slightly worried he looked inside and instantly flinched when his dark green eyes locked with Freed’s turquoise ones. That stare made Rufus to froze to his spot.

Freed was really mad. Sitting there, legs crossed in a way that told to Rufus he had no business what so ever to get between them. His slender fingers tapped the mattress as he was leaning against his arms.

“Umm...” Rufus muttered closing the door behind him.

“I have something here I need to discuss with you”, Freed said, his low voice full of ice spikes. He pulled out the magazine behind him and showed it to Rufus.

“Oh...” the masked mage said blinking. “It is... Uh... It came out quicker than I thought.”

“Really? I talked with Jason about this matter, I was confused because I don’t recall giving him any permission to publish that picture. I didn’t even know that picture existed. That was when Jason told me something really interesting”, Freed said and he stood up and walked towards Rufus who was starting to sweat.

“He did?” he asked.

“Yes he did. Something you should know very well”, Freed said coming even closer, forcing Rufus to lean against the door. “Do I need to refresh that famous memory of yours? Something about you giving Jason the permission to publish that picture without even asking what I would think about that?” Freed almost whispered, his nose only inches away of Rufus’ nose. “Care to explain?”

There was a silence in the room. 

“I’m guessing I went over the line here?” Rufus asked, trying to laugh a little bit so the situation wouldn’t be so terrifying but he only managed to let out some little nervous noises.

“Yes you did, Mr. Lore. And you didn’t just go over the line, you used it as a skipping rope and then tossed it away like a trash.”

“I’m really sorry, Freed”, Rufus assured quickly. “I had no idea you would hate that picture so much.”

“It’s not about the picture, Rufus. It’s that you didn’t even ask me if it was okay to let Jason publish it! You told me I can trust you. Obviously I can’t if you think you’re the only one making all the decisions about us. We should work as a team, we should treat each other with respect and not compete against each other. But you want to be the leader. You want to control this relationship.”

“No no, I wouldn’t do that, dear”, Rufus said. “It was wrong of me to do something like that, I’m honestly really sorry. I should have talked with you about it, please forgive me.”

“I’m not feeling that merciful right now. Get out of my room”, Freed growled.

“W-what?”

“You heard me. Right now I don’t want to even look at you. So get out!” Freed said, shoving the memory mage on the hallway.

“No, Freed! I want to discuss about this more”, Rufus stuttered. “I really am sorry!” he assured but was hit in the face by his own bag, causing him to fall down the stairs.

Laxus, Bickslow and Ever looked at the masked mage that was lying at the bottom of the stairs with his bag.

“So, how did it go?” Bickslow snickered, his ‘babies’ hovering above Rufus.

“Freed’s mad”, they giggled.

“For me it looks like someone has to sleep on the couch tonight”, Laxus smirked.

“I really didn’t think he would get angry like that”, Rufus sighed sitting up.

“That is one thing you should know about Freed”, Ever said with sympathy in her voice. But only a little bit, what Rufus did was still wrong. “He is really private. He won’t let just anyone even inside his room. I believe you’re the first one ever to sleep there with him. He is not someone who can trust people just like that.”

“I had no idea...” Rufus sighed. “Now I have messed up everything”, he said leaning against the wall. He should have known not to do something like that! Why didn’t he snatch that picture from Jason in the second he took it? Why did he just let it happen? He even added the fuel with that kiss.

Three others looked at each other and then at the masked mage who looked like his heart was shattered in millions of little pieces. Pieces so small it was only a dust.

“Hey, cheer up, buddy”, Bickslow said. “Freed won’t stay mad for long”, he grinned.

“That’s right”, Ever smiled. “He only shoved you down the stairs, making it clear that you will sleep on the couch. If he didn’t want you here or like you anymore that way, he would have easily tossed you out of the window and you wouldn’t even realise what hit you.”

“That is true”, Laxus muttered. “Freed’s no one you should take lightly just because he can’t use his magic.”

Rufus looked at the others, surprised by their encouraging words. Even from Laxus, even though the Thunder God didn’t actually say anything like that Freed would eventually let Rufus come back to his room.

“I will never make this same mistake again”, Rufus said determined and stood up. “This mistake is glued into my memory so I won’t repeat it ever again.”

“Whatever”, Laxus muttered and Ever and Bickslow smiled.

“How can I make him forgive me as soon as possible?” Rufus asked.

“You can’t hurry Freed”, Bicks snorted. “He always takes his time. But guess you can help him to make his decision easier by doing some of that romantic crap he likes.”

“Though, we don’t know if he really do like those romantic things himself or does he just like to read about them”, Ever noted. “He hasn’t ever dated anyone so it is a mystery.”

“I should try it”, Rufus smiled. “Then I know again more about him. I will earn his trust again.”

“You better, we don’t want to see our Freed with a broken heart”, Bickslow said. “Because that means we would have to kick your ass so hard we can tickle your throat with our shoes”, he smirked deviously.

 

It was late already and Freed was just laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He was both surprised and really annoyed to notice it was too weird to sleep alone suddenly. The bed felt too big and cold. He was still mad at Rufus, but this just didn’t feel right.

Freed got up and stepped to the door. Silently, not wanting to wake up the whole house he stepped down the stairs and looked around in the dark living room. There Rufus was, sleeping on a couch with a blanket. He blushed slightly, but walked beside the couch.

The green haired mage reached out his hand and just pinched Rufus’ nose with his fingers, causing the memory mage to flinch awake.

“What...?” he whispered wiping his eyes sleepily. Freed just crossed his arms and his look was still harsh as he stared at Rufus. “F-Freed?” the blond male asked when he noticed the rune mage finally. “What is it? Is everything okay?” he asked quickly and sat up.

Freed said nothing just staring at Rufus and turned around, heading back towards the stairs the braided green hair swishing from side to side. Rufus just looked at him confused for a while until he understood. Quickly he took his blanket and his bag and stood up, following Freed on the stairs.

Rufus smiled when he stepped in the room, closing the door behind them. He dropped his bag on the floor and the blanket at the bed, then they settled down under the covers.

“Thank you for letting me back”, Rufus purred wrapping his hands around Freed. “I really am sor-“

“Shut up, I want to sleep”, Freed growled. “You’re nothing but a body pillow to me right now, you got that?” he said adjusting himself better against the memory mage.

“I got it”, Rufus smiled, closing his eyes leaning his cheek against the green hair.


	18. Chapter 18

In the next morning Freed woke up early, but he noticed that Rufus was already up. This really was surprising, it was really rare for Rufus to wake up before him.

Not that he cared he was still angry. But he was starting to calm down slowly. He couldn’t really be mad at Rufus because he did something he didn’t know would upset Freed so much. He should have talked with Rufus about his fixation about keeping his life as private as possible. He knew he could be such a nuisance with that sometimes.

Freed yawned and sat up, flinching when suddenly he heard a knock from the door.

“Good morning, dear”, Rufus smiled stepping inside the room. “I hope you slept well?” he said and put a tray in front of Freed.  
“Were you waiting behind the door when I would wake up?” Freed asked lifting his eyebrow.

“No, I just know when you usually wake up”, Rufus assured.

“You actually made me a breakfast and brought it to my bed.”

“Yes. It is a special breakfast only for you. It is the ‘I’m really sorry that I was such an ass boyfriend’ -breakfast”, Rufus smiled sitting down next to Freed, pouring some tea ready for him.

Freed huffed and looked at his plate.

“You made my pancakes look like hearts”, he noticed. “I don’t know if that is creepy or sweet.”

“I hope you would think it’s sweet.”

“I think I might go with creepy this time...”

“That is so mean”, Rufus sighed.

“But I guess that’s okay”, Freed huffed taking the utensils. “It is also sweet”, he praised and that made the memory mage smile brightly.

For a moment there was a silence as Freed was eating and Rufus just followed his movements with his stare. Finally the Greenette looked at the other man

“That is annoying”, he stated.

“Eh? What is?” Rufus asked confused.

“You staring at me while I eat. Don’t you have anything to do? If you’re not busy, why not take care of the laundry then?”

“If that is what you want, dear”, Rufus smiled standing up immediately. “Today I will be your slave, so make me do whatever you want.”

“Slave?” Freed asked. “Why?”

“I will prove my love to you, of course”, Rufus smirked taking off his hat and bowing to his boyfriend. “My heart is only yours to be held and own, whatever you say I will follow and do what you want.”

“Oh? But as my slave, it means you have to do this all no matter what?”

“Precisely.”

“So how can I tell you’re doing everything purely out of love, not because you have to?”

The memory mage jolted, seemingly ready to crash on the floor out of depress because how cruelly his words had been thrown back against him just like that.

Freed chuckled looking at Rufus who had lost all the confidence of his romantic words earlier.

“I understand what you meant”, he assured. “Don’t worry. You sure are a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

“Only when it comes to you, my dear”, Rufus said. “No one else is worthy enough.”

“Fine, so go do the laundry”, Freed smiled. “Did you make breakfast for the others too?”

“As I said, this is the special breakfast only for you what I made”, Rufus smirked and dared to steal a kiss from Freed. “But if you want, I will make breakfast for others too.”

“It’s alright”, Freed said and Rufus smiled happily stepping back to the hallway.

The rune mage huffed slightly amused and continued eating his food. He was still mad but he could see how Rufus was trying hard so he would forgive him. It was kinda sweet actually. And he did enjoy it a little bit he had to admit that.

He looked at the clock seeing it was eight already. They should probably meet up with Magaidh today properly and ask if she had any new information about the poison. And of course ask how her date went and who was that mysterious date of her. He chuckled when thinking how Magaidh would probably immediately bring all of her laundry to them if she heard Rufus –

Freed frowned slightly when he thought about that more. Rufus was a rich man who had lived in a mansion through his whole life, he had had servants to do all the chores for him, so...

“Rufus!” Freed yelled and he quickly moved the tray and shoved the blanket away, dashing to the hallway.

The green haired mage ran down the stairs and towards their laundry room. Before he could open the door, it opened itself and Rufus looked at him confused.

“Is something wrong?” the blond man asked.

“Did you start doing the laundry already?” Freed asked quickly.

“Of course.”

“You... Do know how to do laundry, right?” Freed asked slowly and Rufus was confused for a moment, before he laughed.

“I see, just because I’m rich you’re assuming that I don’t know how to do chores at the house?” he said and Freed blushed slightly.

“I just wanted to make sure”, he muttered crossing his arms.

“Now look who is letting himself jump into conclusions”, Rufus smirked smugly. 

“I’m sorry, I was too hasty thinking that you might not know how to handle things.”

“It’s alright”, Rufus assured with a smile. “Now you can return back to your room, I will take care of everything”, he assured.

Freed huffed and turned around, when he noticed something on the floor behind Rufus.

“What is that bag?” he asked.

“What bag?” Rufus asked innocently.

“Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you”, Freed grumbled. “I haven’t seen that bag there earlier”, he said pointing at the big bag in the laundry room.

“You don’t need to worry about that, I will take care of it”, Rufus assured. “You can go finish your breakfast and dress up, even though I do like seeing you wearing only pyjama pants”, he smirked letting his eyes linger on Freed’s gorgeous abs and strong arms.

Freed was just about to say something when the doorbell rang.

“I think I might know what is going on here”, he said stepping on the door and opened it before Rufus managed to stop him.

And just as he thought, there was a young woman standing behind the door and he recognized her being one of the staff in nearby laundry shop.

“Good morning, miss Sandra”, he greeted.

“Uh... Good morning, Mr. Justine...” the girl said and was blushing fiercely.

“That won’t do, dear”, Rufus purred suddenly and pulled a morning gown over Freed who realized now he wasn’t even properly dressed up before opening the door just like that. “It is not polite to open the door only half-dressed.”

“Did you call her to pick up our laundry?” Freed asked looking at the memory mage.

“I did”, Rufus nodded.

“Oh, so that is how you do laundry?”

“The results will be good, I promise”, Rufus chuckled and he fetched the bag, giving it to the girl who didn’t seem to know what to say. “When they are done, please return them, alright?” he smiled oh so handsomely what would make icebergs melt just like that. “You will be rewarded of your hard work, I promise.”

“Y-yes, sir! Right away!” the poor girl gasped and took the bag, quickly starting her journey back.

Rufus closed the door and immediately wrapped his arms around Freed, making the rune mage confused. Rufus buried his face against his neck, keeping him close and Freed huffed.

“Did you get jealous because she was staring?” he asked slightly amused.

“Yes”, Rufus muttered. “So jealous I could have torn her eyes out of her head just like that.”

“I know you’re exaggerating”, Freed chuckled brushing his fingers through the blond hair. “But I’m glad you didn’t do that. If you did, that wouldn’t be healthy at all.”

“I understand. Please don’t open doors like that again?”

“I’ll keep that in my mind”, Freed nodded. “If you do the same?”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do, because I want to do so”, Rufus purred lifting his head and kissed Freed gently. “Whatever it is.”

“Alright”, Freed smiled. “And you’re paying the laundry bill.”

“Of course, darling.”

 

After Freed got dressed up and they did more breakfast, Rufus suddenly said that there was something he wanted to show for Freed in the town. Of course knowing how Rufus was, Freed was instantly cautious what his boyfriend had now come up with.

“I didn’t see Magaidh arriving yesterday at all”, Freed noticed when they walked past the streets.

“She didn’t come back”, Rufus explained. “She had other place where to stay.”

“Oh, her date must have been success...”

“Ah, no, not like that”, Rufus laughed. “She might not be the most refined with her manners but she actually does have one rule: At first date, there will be no sex. It is a very wise decision.”

“It is”, Freed nodded thinking about it. “In most situations, it only makes things rushed. Of course good for those for who it suits, but I wouldn’t do something like that”, he said shaking his head. “But I do wonder... Was that night at the hotel our first date?” he asked looking at the memory mage who got surprised.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Of course it wasn’t, it was our private little vacation together.”

“Yet everyone still knows about it now...” Freed muttered and Rufus sweat dropped. “Well, that happened so there is no point quarrelling about it anymore. I still think you should have informed me beforehand but I should have also informed you about how private I am, I’m sorry about that”, the rune mage said and Rufus was confused because of the sudden apology. “Just don’t ever do something like that again, you got it?”

“Yes!” Rufus said smiling brightly. “I will never let anything like that happen again, I promise.”

“Good. Then I guess I can forgive you.”

“Guess?”

“Weren’t you going to prove your love today?” Freed smirked. “But please stop being so submissive all the time, I’m not used seeing you act like that. Just be yourself.”

“I can do that”, Rufus chuckled wrapping his arms around Freed. “This is good information. I know you are a very proud and strong man, but deep inside you want your partner to be even more proud and stronger than you are, someone you feel comfortable being submissive. Someone who would shamelessly shove you on the bed and touch you the way you want.”

“Rufus! We’re at the middle of the street”, Freed hissed his cheeks burning red and tried to remove Rufus’ arms around his waist. “People are staring.”

“Let them stare, they are just jealous because I have something so lovely and precious in my arms”, Rufus purred kissing Freed’s neck. But he knew he shouldn’t take this too far so he let go finally, he didn’t want Freed to get embarrassed.

“So what was it that you wanted to show me?” the rune mage asked as they continued walking.

“We’re almost there, be patient my love”, Rufus chuckled mysteriously.

Freed looked around and noticed they were near the train station now. Suddenly Rufus stopped so he did the same too.

“Here we are”, Rufus smiled.

“No you didn’t...” Freed huffed and looked at the house in front of them.

It was two-storey high, had a tiny front garden with a cherry tree and a beautiful metallic fence.

“You really rented a house”, Freed said.

“No. I bought it yesterday”, Rufus smiled and Freed jolted.

“You _bought_ it?” he almost shouted. “Why? Weren’t you listening to me at all when I said that is not wise?”

“Maybe. But I have enough money so I can sometimes do things like this”, Rufus chuckled and he took out a key from his pocket. “This one is for you”, he smiled happily placing the key on Freed’s hand. “I’m not saying that you have to move in, but you can use that house however you want. I can’t always be here in Magnolia with you, but feel free to stay here if you want whenever you feel like it. I have my own key of course and since it is so close to the train station, it is easy for me to travel.”

“You are insane, you do know that right?”

“If love would always be practical, smart and composed, it wouldn’t feel special would it?”

Freed sighed and followed Rufus who opened the small gate and they stepped in the garden. The door opened and Magaidh looked at them with a smile.

“Welcome home you lovebirds”, she said.

“Good morning, Magaidh”, Freed smiled. “You’re up early.”

“I wouldn’t be but Rufus called me and told that I should get my ass up and downstairs to make sure there are no mess anywhere”, Magaidh explained letting them in. “And I will repay that just so you know”, she growled to Rufus.

“I know, I just didn’t want to bring Freed here and there would be your clothes and drinks all around the house”, Rufus said taking off his coat and Freed did the same.

“I’m not that sloppy. But that beside now, I want to talk about this”, Magaidh smirked and pulled out the familiar magazine with its cover picture that still made Freed blush. “Tell me everything”, Magaidh hummed happily.

“Not going to happen”, Rufus declined and Freed put his red coat on the rack too.

“Come oon! I’m acting nice and asking politely and shit!”

“Rufus knew Jason took that picture, he gave him a permission to publish that picture and I got mad at him because he didn’t tell me before deciding something like that”, Freed huffed crossing his arms.

“This got even more interesting than I thought”, Magaidh snickered. “Did you kick him out of your room?”

“Yes.”

“Serves him well. Sometimes he can be such an ass.”

“I’m still here”, Rufus muttered annoyed. “And I can hear you.”

“I know, that’s why I said it.”

“We talked about it while walking here and I think it’s better if we just forget this whole incident”, Freed said.

“I agree”, Rufus smiled kissing his rune mage’s cheek. “Come on, we have a big house to investigate.”

At downstairs there were a big living room and a kitchen, as well as a dining room and large bathroom. They stepped up the stairs to the second floor where there were three bedrooms and a big library room with a couch and a desk.

“This is the master bedroom”, Rufus purred opening the door.

The room was spacious and it had it’s own bathroom and a small balcony. The bed was huge with silk sheets and fluffy pillows. Even though the house did have all the furnitures, there was no paintings or pictures or similar anywhere and it made the whole place slightly dreary still. But Freed was sure Rufus would probably fill the house with artistic (and expensive) paintings and stuff.

“You don’t have to move in if you don’t want to”, Rufus assured as he watched how Freed looked around. “You can keep living in that house you all share and sometimes visit here.”

“Are you planning to live here now?” Freed asked looking at the memory mage.

Rufus chuckled and stepped closer, wrapping his arms around Freed’s waist.

“I will go where you go”, he purred. “If you want to stay in your house that is fine. If you want to stay here, that is good too. But no matter what is the decision, I will stay by your side”, he assured kissing Freed gently.

“That is really nice to hear”, the swordsman smiled. He looked around more. “Well… All those shelves looked really sad when they were empty and I certainly don’t have too much space in my room...” he murmured and Rufus smiled. “But I’m not going to give up my room.”

“Whatever you decide, darling”, Rufus smirked. “You can keep it and we can decide when we want to sleep here and when there. And when my house is again repaired, maybe we can sometimes visit there too.”

“Three houses, huh?” Freed chuckled. “That is a lot of space.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

“I am happy, Rufus. I don’t need anything fancy and expensive, why can’t you understand that?”

“I do understand it, I just decide not to listen to it”, Rufus purred and Freed yelped when suddenly he was lifted up and in the next second he bounced a little when hitting the soft bed.

Rufus followed immediately, climbing on top of Freed and smiling with a predatory smile.

“And you know what is one of the best things about this house?” he said locking Freed’s hands against the mattress above his head. “I paid so there is a spell in here that we don’t hear the noises from outside. And no-one can hear our voices from inside”, he chuckled kissing Freed’s neck, making him gasp.

“R-Rufus”, Freed stuttered when hand gently caressed his chest and he jolted when a mischievous finger played with his nipple through the shirt. “Magaidh is here”, the rune mage reminded and squirmed around, but Rufus’ hold was surprisingly strong. “Stop that”, Freed said when Rufus’ hand pulled his shirt out of his pants.

“I can tell Magaidh to go somewhere else”, the masked mage whispered and he loosened Freed’s tie, licking the bared skin.

“I’m really serious, Rufus”, Freed hissed, even though he was getting aroused.

“So am I. We should celebrate our decision to live together.”

“Huh? What? W-we are?”

“Of course. We’ve been living together ever since the day I brought you to my house”, Rufus smiled opening two buttons. “I decided it from the start that if you would answer to my feelings, I would stand by your side forever”, he whispered in Freed’s ear. “I’ll be your loving husband for the rest of your life.”

“H-husband?!” Freed almost shrieked his eyes wide. “Aren’t you going way too fast now?”

Rufus shrugged.

“My love is burning for you until the day I die and even after that if possible. I’m glad if someday we could wear each others rings, but for me it’s just a formality. I don’t even need the marriage if you don’t want it. I’m always happiest when I can just be there where you are, dear”, Rufus smiled caressing Freed’s cheek. “There are no even words that can describe how madly in love I am with you, Freed. And how incredibly happy I am every time when I can even touch you. My day always starts with shines when I can wake up beside you”, he said putting his head under Freed’s chin, his cheek touching the warm skin. “Not every day is going to be perfect in the future, that is for sure. There is going to be quarrels between us, we are going to even doubt each other sometimes, who knows what all might happen. But I promise that my love will never fade. It will only grow stronger.”

Freed looked at the ceiling, listening Rufus’ words. Rufus really was something. How did he say something like that so easily?

“I know you need more time”, Rufus said. “And I’m not going to rush you. You can take all the time you need. I just wanted to make sure that you know how I feel”, he smiled his eyes shut.

“… Too...” he suddenly heard almost silent mutter.

“What?” Rufus said lifting his head up.

“Uhm…” Freed murmured blushing heavily and looked away. “Love you too...” he finally blurted. “I thought about it a lot yesterday while in my room… Even though I was really mad at you, I noticed I was ready to forgive you as soon as you would just apologize properly and assured you would never do it again. It surprised me, since if it had been anyone else I probably wouldn’t have forgiven it...”

Rufus just stared at Freed astounded. Freed just said him that he loved him. Freed loved him!

“Magaidh!” Rufus yelled towards the door. “Get out, right now!” he commanded, making Freed blush.

“What?! You’re kicking me out?” they heard Magaidh’s irritated voice.

“Exactly, now get lost!”

“You goddamn fucking horny fox can’t keep your dick in your pants even for half an hour after arriving! Fine, I’m leaving!” Magaidh hissed. “Don’t hump his brains out!” she warned and they heard a loud slam from the door.

Rufus looked back at Freed and smirked deviously.

“Where do you think you’re going, darling?” he purred when Freed tried to squirm away under the memory mage. “The house is all ours now.”

Freed couldn’t stop thinking how with those simple words he had apparently awakened the beast inside Rufus.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Freed hummed to himself as he went through his books in his room.

“You sure are on a good mood”, Ever chuckled putting some books on the table, ready to be moved in to the new house.

“Hm? Might be”, Freed smiled and put more books on the pile.

“I believe I don’t need to wonder why”, Ever smirked, nudging Freed’s side with her elbow and made the rune mage blush. “Oh don’t be so bashful, Freed. It is alright for you guys to have fun when you feel like it. You’re a grown up man, not some innocent little teenager. Definitely not innocent any more...”

“Would you please stop?” Freed said his ears burning.

“You are so _cute_ ”, Ever chuckled hugging the green haired mage. “Rufus would eat you up right away if he saw you now.”

“Lucky for me, he is at the house”, Freed muttered annoyed. “Would you let go of me?”

“No. I can’t believe you are moving away”, Ever sighed tightening her grasp. “Our dear little brother, moving to his own place, living with a man, soon you would probably start a family and then we can’t see you anymore that often...”

“Don’t be that dramatic, Ever”, Freed huffed looking at the brunette. Of course he knew she was just teasing him. “Besides, I don’t even know if Rufus would want a family.”

“Would you want it?” Ever asked with a smile.

“I don’t know, I have never thought about it that much. Why are we even talking about this?” Freed noticed. “It is way too early to even think things like that!”

“Just checking”, Ever snickered poking Freed’s red cheek. “I like it when you are more open now, talking about these things. Obviously Rufus has a good influence on you. Before meeting him you would have already walked away from this room when I started pestering you. And you would have _never_ answered anything to my question about if you want a family.”

“I’m not that private”, Freed huffed. “You’re exaggerating.”

“No I’m not. Last time when I asked if you had ever been on a date before, you just took your tea and changed the table!”

“That was way too private question!”

“No it wasn’t, you goof! It was a normal conversation! Sheez, you really are lucky that you found Rufus, I don’t believe there are many men in this world who could handle you.”

“Thank you...”

“I was just being honest”, Ever said letting go of the rune mage finally. “And you know it yourself.”

“Fine, let’s just continue moving these books now”, Freed said rolling his eyes.

They took piles from the table and stepped outside. There were lots of boxes at the living room, where they set the books in a specific order.

“Are you sure about this?” Laxus asked lounging on a chair.

“It’s not like I’m leaving this place forever”, Freed chuckled. “We will visit and sometimes sleep over here, I still have my room here. But at the house I have more room for my books.”

“So Rufus is gonna stay around from now on, huh?” Laxus grumbled and Freed got confused.

“Do you have a problem with him? I know he can be a little bit… well, Rufus, but I don’t think he is that bad.”

“Nah, he is okay I guess”, Laxus grunted. He hated it but he had to admit that it was nice to see Freed so happy with Rufus. And Rufus seemed like a reliable guy who would do anything for Freed.

“We have still lots of books to move so would you move your ass from that chair and give us a little help?” Ever asked from the dragon slayer who growled.

“It would help us a lot”, Freed smiled and Laxus grumbled something, finally standing up. “Thank you, Laxus”, Freed said and they went back upstairs to his room.

They moved most of the books to the living room, until all the boxes were full.

“Alright, this will be enough for now”, Freed smiled. “Now we need to pile them on the wagon I borrowed from the Guild and then I can head to the house finally.”

“I will come too! I want to see that house”, Ever giggled stepping right beside him.

“Okay if you want”, Freed said taking one of the boxes. “Laxus? Would you want to come?” he asked from the blond, who grunted something and took two boxes, stepping outside the house. “I guess that means yes”, Freed huffed. “He has been acting weird lately.”

Ever narrowed her eyes and she thought about this more. Laxus sure didn’t like Rufus… But he was tolerating him because of Freed. Could it be...

 

Rufus, Magaidh and Bickslow were waiting downstairs that Freed would arrive with the books.

“If only Freed could use his magic, this would be much easier”, Bicks snorted. “Nice place, by the way.”

“Thank you”, Rufus smiled. “I only want the best for my Freed.”

“I might crash here sometimes, more space than in our house”, Bickslow grinned.

“I thought that might happen, that’s why I made sure we have enough guest rooms.”

“Nice, baby. Oh, I can see them”, Bickslow smiled when he noticed the big wagon and three travellers who pulled it along them.

They stepped outside as Freed made sure the wagon wouldn’t move anywhere from the gate.

“Is everything ready here?” he smiled as they took some boxes.

“Of course, dear”, Rufus assured. “We have dusted all the shelves and mopped the floors, so we can start moving the books right away.

“Good, let’s start then”, Freed smiled.

It took time, but little by little every book found their place. It was starting to get dark outside and Freed had prepared a big dinner for all of them.

“Thank you for all of your help”, he smiled to his friends. “The hardest part is now over, we can take care rest of the books with Rufus. Now as I have said many times, this doesn’t mean that I’m moving out permanently. I will visit and sleep in my room now and then.”

“And I will follow where ever my darling goes”, Rufus smiled happily.

“Well, you heard him”, Freed chuckled. “And I’m pretty sure he won’t change his mind no matter what.”

“That’s right, sweetheart.”

“That’s okay, Rufus is a good guy”, Bickslow grinned and Ever nodded, while Laxus murmured something that sounded agreeing.

“I’m happy that you like him too”, Freed smiled. “It would have been devastating if you didn’t like the man who I’m dating. I don’t ever want to get in the situation when I have to choose between my boyfriend or my family.”

“We’ll make sure that won’t happen, baby”, Bickslow promised and they all nodded.

After that little speech they started eating. At some point of the dinner Rufus had to get up so he could answer to his phone, walking into the living room.

“So, are you planning to have a romantic evening now?” Ever chuckled to Freed who blushed slightly.

“I don’t know if Rufus has thought something”, the rune mage said. “And Magaidh will be here.”

“No I won’t”, Magaidh smirked. “I have other plans. Gonna go see my date.”

“I have meant to ask but who was it who you are dating from our Guild?” Ever asked curiously, but before Magaidh could answer, Rufus stepped in the room.

“Magaidh, Sting wants us to return back to the Guild”, he said and they all got surprised.

“Is something wrong?” Magaidh asked standing up immediately.

“Rogue has a fever, as well as the others. First it seemed like your antidote was working but now they can’t get up from their beds.”

“We have to hop on the next train then”, Magaidh said and she went to the stairs so she could get her bag.

Freed stood up as well.

“How come the antidote didn’t work?” he asked.

“Who knows, it might be somehow different than the one they have used before”, Rufus said shaking his head. “Whatever is the reason, I have to make sure Magaidh gets to the Guild safely, so I have to go with her.”

“I understand”, Freed nodded. “If there is no need for me here, maybe I could come too?”

“That would be nice”, Rufus smiled.

“You have to talk with Gramps about that”, Laxus said. “He doesn’t like it if you leave just like that now that you can’t use magic and you’re still recovering and those hunters are out there looking for you.”

“I know, I will talk with him”, Freed nodded.

“I’ll pack your bag if you want to go talk with him at the Guild”, Rufus smiled.

“Alright, I will see you at the train station as soon as possible”, Freed smiled and Ever, Bickslow and Laxus all stood up from the table, following Freed outside. “If it’s not too much to ask, would you take care of the foods later?” Freed asked from Ever.

“Alright, I just take everything in our house”, she smirked and Freed chuckled.

“If you want”, he said.

“Like hell we will just leave that delicious food there”, Bicks snickered. “How long will you stay at Sabertooth?”

“I don’t know, as long as necessary, I guess. I will return if anything happens here, you only need to call me.”

“How? You don’t have your own communicator lacrima since you don’t know how to use them properly”, Laxus reminded making Freed pout.

“I just don’t like them”, he muttered.

“You can barely call anyone with it. For such a smart man you totally suck with some things.”

“Well, Rufus has one so you can call him. You know the number, I wrote it on the paper at home.”

They nodded and continued their journey towards Fairy Tail.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been so long since the last chapter >///< I’ve been so busy with work and stuff and ending my fraxus fanfic. But now this story can continue again!

They arrived at the Guild where Makarov was sitting on the bar counter as they approached him. Freed frowned as it seemed like the old man was already waiting for them to appear.

“You guys look like something is going on”, Makarov said and took a swig from his beer.

“That is right”, Freed nodded. “Rufus and Magaidh has to return immediately, they are already packing. Something has gone wrong and the antidote is not working so Magaidh is needed to see how serious the situation is.”

“That sounds really bad”, Makarov said. “Is there something we can do to help?”

“That is why I would like to ask a permission to join them. To go with them and see if there’s anything I could do.”

“I can’t allow that, Freed”, Makarov declared not even thinking twice and even though Freed already suspected this would happen, it still stung him.

“But if there’s anything at all that I could do, I would like to help them”, the rune mage said. “They helped me, I want to do the same for them.”

“I understand how you feel, I really do. But I can’t let you go now since you’re still recovering. It’s too risky.”

“If you’re worried about my safety, would it be better if Bickslow and Evergreen joined me?” Freed suggested. “Then the chance of someone attacking is much smaller.”

“Freed...” Ever sighed.

“I don’t feel comfortable just letting them return and not do anything”, Freed said stubbornly. “There must be something I can do. I can help Magaidh to do some research -”

“And when did you suddenly became so skilful with healing and shit?” Laxus asked crossing his arms.

“I might not be, but I’m sure even I could -”

“Justine!” Makarov shouted loudly and it made Freed snap his spine straight immediately like a soldier. It also made others jolt and go silent, as no one had ever heard Freed get yelled like that by Makarov. “Calm your head and listen to me, brat. You mean well and you don’t want to leave your friends in trouble, I get that. But this discussion is over. You’re not leaving Magnolia. Not alone nor with Laxus and rest of the Thunder Legion or anyone else. You’re still recovering and you can’t use your magic”, Makarov reminded with a frown. “I hate it that I have to explain something so simple for someone as rational as you are.”

Freed felt how his cheeks blushed and he felt embarrassed. He knew he was acting stupid and not thinking clearly. He just… Really wanted to help.

“I understand, Master”, he finally murmured.

“I know you would try to even turn mountains upside down if that would help but the fact is you would only be on their way”, Makarov said. “And I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to get in danger no matter how much you would want to help. Only thing you can do is stay home and try to rest so you can heal properly. Do you understand, Freed?”

“Yes”, Freed nodded.

“Good.”

Makarov sighed taking his mug again.

“You can go now, try to rest”, he said.

Freed spun around on his heels and walked towards the doors. He was aware of all the stares but he kept his face emotionless. He just walked out, and not until he was far enough he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

For the first time maybe ever he really felt ready to explode because of their Master’s decision. He felt frustrated and even ready to break rules that were set so he could just do something.

But he wouldn’t do it. No matter how hard it was or how wrong it felt, he knew what Makarov said was true. There was nothing he could do the way he was right now. He would only make things harder for Rufus and Magaidh if he would follow them.

After walking a while he heard steps behind him. He didn’t even need to turn around to see who was catching up with him, he just kept walking and soon three others adjusted their steps in the same pace with him.

There was silence for a while as they walked, only hearing how townspeople talked and some of them greeted them on their way.

“Don’t you want to go see them off?” Ever asked when they finally stopped beside the house that Rufus had bought.

“No”, Freed said opening the gate. “They’re not there anymore.”

“Huh? Didn’t Rufus say you guys would meet at the station?” Bickslow asked confused as they all stepped in the house.

“Master knew we were coming, I could see it. That meant Rufus called for him while we were on our way”, Freed explained taking his shoes off and Laxus closed the door after them. “And he probably was the one to tell Master not to let me go after them. That means they have already gotten in the train and are heading towards Sabertooth.”

“I see”, Laxus murmured. “But guess he just means well...”

“Definitely”, Ever nodded as they started to clean the table. “He just wants you to stay here where you’re safe.”

“I know and it makes this even more annoying”, Freed sneered. “I can’t even get mad at him.”

“Sure you can, baby”, Bickslow cackled starting to wash the dishes. “Just call him and give him a piece of your mind. Yell at him, call him an asshole and make him apologize few dozen times, tell him his balls will turn blue because there will be no sex for a while and hang up.”

Even Freed had to laugh with others when imagining himself doing something like that. Rufus would definitely be devastated, he could easily imagine that stunned expression on his face.

“As tempting as that might be, I shouldn’t do it”, he said with a small smile as his anger finally started to calm.

“I’d pay so I could see his face if you’d do that”, Laxus smirked sitting down on the couch.

“Me too”, Ever giggled. “Hm? What’s that?” she said when she noticed something on a small table near the entrance.

Freed stepped beside the table confused and lifted up a small box. It was wrapped in a pretty wrapping paper and had a small bow on it.

“Ooh, he’s good”, Bickslow snickered when they saw the package as well. “He already left you a gift as an apology, how sly of him.”

“Sneaky fox”, ‘babies’ giggled hovering around Freed.

“Buying someone’s forgiveness with gifts is not right”, the rune mage huffed, sitting down on one of the arm chairs.

“Don’t be such a goody two-shoes and open it already!” Ever commanded impatiently.

Freed sighed and he took off the bow and unwrapped the paper. Then he opened the box and took out a new communicator lacrima.

“Really…?” he huffed slightly annoyed.

“I guess you finally have to learn how to use them properly”, Ever giggled. “I bet Rufus already made sure his number is in it.”

“Seems so”, Freed muttered.

“That guy is seriously something”, Bickslow cackled. “I bet he only bought it so you guys could have some naughty calls while he’s away”, he snickered lifting his eyebrows.

“Could you stop talking like that, Bicks?” Freed said with a slight blush. Knowing Rufus, that possibility really wasn’t anything impossible.

“You can see it from his face! He’s all gentleman and shit but I bet in a second you let your guard down he will attack you like a hungry wolf!”

“That’s not -!” Freed said but he didn’t even know how to continue, just groaning frustrated and buried his red face in his hands.

“Knew it”, Bickslow smirked and Ever chuckled. Freed was so cute!

When everything was cleaned they somehow ended up just sitting around and drinking. Freed was glad that they could finally forget the previous conversation as they started talking about missions and other stuff they usually spoke when together.

“Hey, there’s something I’ve been wondering for a while”, Ever said looking at the green haired mage. “About Rufus’ mask, does he ever take if off?” Ever asked curiously and Freed looked at her confused.

“Of course he takes it off, why do you ask?” he asked.

“Is there a reason why he’s wearing it?” Ever beamed excitedly as Bickslow brought them more beer on the coffee table.

“Does he have a scar?” the seith mage asked slumping back down on the chair.

“Is he just damn ugly?” Laxus snorted leaning against his hand.

“No”, Freed said rubbing his temples. “He is… I don’t know, a normal man.”

“A handsome man?” Bickslow grinned.

“Maybe.”

“Freed _looooves_ him!” ‘babies’ sang happily.

“Why are we talking about him again?” Freed snarled annoyed, as he was already getting tipsy so it was not so easy for him to maintain his calm as it usually was. “Can’t we just forget him for a moment?”

“We want to know everything about your boyfriend, Freed!” Ever giggled wriggling on her seat. “I want to see him without his mask as well.”

“He obviously has some reason why he uses it, though he never wears it when it’s just the two of us so I can’t just ask him to take it off in front of you guys. You can ask him if you want but if he says no, don’t come and ask me to beg him to do it.”

“Ohh I bet he would take off more than just his mask if he saw you begging”, Bickslow couldn’t resist saying.

“Could we please _stop_ talking about my love life, you perverts!”

“We can’t help it, you make it way too easy for us to tease you”, Laxus chuckled. It was really amusing to see Freed like this, it was definitely something new they hadn’t seen before.

Freed sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, looking how finally they started to talk about something else. He was so annoyed, but couldn’t do nothing more than just smile slightly. These idiots really were his family. They always knew how to cheer him up.

 


	21. Chapter 21

Few days went by, as Freed kept assembling his stuff in the new house and did his best to just spend his time as he could. He helped at the bar in the Guild since that didn’t require any magic, cleaned around, and just… Did his best trying to be helpful.

Freed was again in the kitchen, washing the dishes and he was wearing a white shirt with a red vest this time, with a simple black tie around his neck and a black apron around his waist. This wasn’t so bad. He had helped in the kitchen few times before, but this was the first time he worked here with Mirajane, Lisanna and Kinana full days.

It was the fourth day since Rufus and Magaidh left Magnolia and he had heard absolutely nothing of them yet. Rufus hadn’t send even a single message for him, despite him having a new communicator lacrima the memory mage had bought him. Was everything really alright? Was there a reason why Rufus didn’t contact him? Sure, Freed could just as easily call him as well, but he was a little bit too proud to do that yet. He was still slightly hurt because of what Rufus did.

”Here are some more”, Lisanna smiled as she came to the kitchen and put a tray full of mugs and other dishes on the table.

”Thank you for collecting them for me”, Freed smiled.

”Not at all! Thank you for helping us even though you could just be staying at home and doing anything else”, the white haired girl smiled happily.

”I’m not really used to just staying at home and not doing anything. I can’t go to the missions like this so I have to do something. Even I can’t just read all the time.”

”Well, we are happy that you’re here. You look quite handsome in that suit and your hair on a ponytail”, Lisanna teased making Freed laugh.

”You think so?” he said.

”That Rufus would absolutely drool over you if he saw you. Maybe we should sent him a picture? I heard you have finally gotten yourself a communicator lacrima!”

”I wouldn’t say I got it, it was more like it was forced for me to take it...”

”Hmm… I wonder...” Lisanna chuckled and Freed was startled when suddenly her hands were on his hips.

” _Lisanna_!” he shouted both startled and also confused.

”Ah-ha!” Lisanna grinned as she found the communicator lacrima from his pocket and before the green haired rune mage was able to catch her, she jumped farther. ”You should smile!”

”Lisanna, do not take any pictures”, Freed warned frowning but he already heard clicks.

”My my, you’re even blushing”, Lisanna giggled keeping a table between them.

”What is the ruckus over here?” Mirajane asked opening the door and stepping inside. ”Why are you running around in the kitchen?”

”Look, sis!” Lisanna beamed happily, quickly running behind Mirajane and showed her the pictures. That was so unfair! There was no way Freed could get that thing back for now! Especially when Mirajane looked at the pictures her eyes widened.

”Oh my”, she said. ”How adorable. Are you planning to send this to Rufus perhaps?” Mira asked smiling all happy and innocent, but Freed knew she was already aware it was all thanks to Lisanna those pictures were taken and he had not agreed to them.

”I am not planning to send them to anyone”, he said bluntly.

”Really? That’s too bad, these are quite good. I know! Let’s ask Kinana to join us and take a group picture!”

”Yes! That sounds fun!” Lisanna cheered.

Freed sighed rubbing his face and soon Kinana joined them and they assembled all four in front of the stoves, while the communicator lacrima was on the table ready to take the picture in time that had been set. Well, guess it was fun Freed had to admit it, even though his smile was pretty much forced. After that the picture was shared and he finally got his communicator lacrima back.

”After these are washed you can go home, Freed”, Mira promised as the rune mage returned back in front of the sink. ”You’ve done enough for one day.”

”Aren’t you going to still continue until everyone has left?” Freed asked.

”Yes, but I can handle it. I sent Lisanna and Kinana home also. And you should still rest”, Mira said looking how Freed had rolled up his sleeves and she could see the injuries in his other arm. All the wounds were healed but there were still slightly reddish big scars and it would take some time for the muscles to fully heal. ”I don’t want Rufus to to get mad at me by not letting you rest properly.”

”Is it me or are everyone suddenly… Um… Interested about him more and wants to know things about him and such?” Freed asked, not really sure how he should describe what he was thinking. ”Even Laxus, Bickslow and Ever were asking so many things about him few days ago.”

Mirajane sighed and smiled, patting Freed’s shoulder.

”What did you expect, Freed?” she said. ”We know you’re really private but this is Fairy Tail. Rufus is dating one of us, of course we get nosy and want to know more about him. He’s practically part of the family now.”

Freed remembered what Magaidh said earlier, saying how Freed was indirectly part of Sabertooth since he was Rufus’ boyfriend. He hadn’t even thought how of course it worked the other way around as well. Rufus was part of their family too.

Mirajane nodded with a smile when Freed seemed to finally realise what she was meaning.

”We want to know what kind of a man he is”, she chuckled. ”Is it bothering him that we ask things about him?”

”I don’t know, I haven’t talked with him since he left with Magaidh”, Freed huffed.

”You haven’t? Why not?” Mira asked surprised and worried. ”Don’t tell me you two are fighting.”

”This whole thing, why I couldn’t go with them is obviously because Rufus asked Master not to give me a permission to leave Magnolia. I’m absolutely sure of it. He had no right to do something like that.”

”I see… I can understand why you feel hurt.”

”I’m glad to hear that.”

”And as usual, you’re being too proud and stubborn”, Mirajane sighed making Freed look at her sharply. ”You should just call him, I know you want to.”

”Why should I be the one to call him?” he asked.

”Rufus must be thinking that you’re still angry at him.”

”I am at some level.”

”So he won’t call because he wants to give you some space and let you calm down.”

”He is acting stupid if he thinks like that.”

”Freed, you might be the smartest man in this Guild but you are definitely completely hopeless when it’s about relationships”, Mira huffed. ”I’m not saying I know exactly how things are, but isn’t it better to call him now and at least hear that everything is fine, instead of stubbornly just keeping the distance and worrying if everything is alright?” she asked with a small supporting smile.

Freed murmured something with a slight blush as he continued washing the dishes.

”I’ll think about it”, he promised.

”That’s a relief”, Mira chuckled hugging the green haired mage. ”Seriously, you are not good with these kinds of things.”

”Ever has mentioned that as well few times...”

”But I’m sure Rufus understands”, Mira smiled letting go of Freed. ”So wash those and go home and call him, alright?”

Freed didn’t answer right away, what made Mira’s smile to turn more sweet and way too innocent to promise anything good and it made Freed instantly feel uneasy.

”Alright, I will do that”, he promised finally.

”Wonderful! Tell him we all hope things are going well in Sabertooth and Rogue and others are feeling better”, Mira said happily and she left, leaving the sweating Captain of the Thunder Legion behind.

 

After everything was done, Freed changed his clothes and took his red coat and sword leaving the Guild House. Even though they were constantly cautious for the possible new attacks, there were still many who were already drunk. But Freed knew that if something would happen, they would all still get up and do what they could.

He opened the gate and closed it behind him. He did the same for the front door and stepped inside the house taking off his boots and his coat, finally just slumping on the couch. He took out his communicator lacrima and was surprised when he saw a new message, opening it.

 

’ _Call him! >:( _’

 

Freed sighed. Of course Mira wouldn’t just let him accidentally forget his promise. He looked at the clock and it wasn’t yet late enough that he could have used even that as an excuse not to call, he knew Rufus was not yet sleeping.

So he finally tapped his communicator lacrima and lifted it on his ear. Suddenly he was feeling really nervous as he was waiting if Rufus would pick up his own communicator lacrima or not. It felt like an eternity, even though it only took few seconds and Freed heard a click.

”Good evening, darling”, he heard a familiar voice chuckling and instantly he was wondering why on earth he was so worried if Rufus would answer.

”I hear you’re at least okay”, he said crossing his legs and leaned against the back of the couch.

”It sounds like you’re still mad at me”, Rufus said amused.

”I can’t deny that. How are Rogue and others feeling?”

”They are feeling better, Magaidh managed to come up with a new antidote that helped with the fever.”

”I see, that is a relief”, Freed smiled. ”It’s really good. But what caused that fever?”

”It seems like their wounds were infected, something about those needles caused it. Maybe the poison was different than the one before. Magaidh still wants to stay at least few days before we can come back to Magnolia so she can talk with Porlyusica. If I’m honest, I was hoping we could have returned today, but it seems that won’t happen.”

”Don’t rush, let her do her job. Your Guild comes first.”

”I know, but it has been four days already since I last saw you!” Rufus whined.

”Well it’s your own fault not letting me come with you.”

”So you did notice I was behind that?”

”Of course I did, I’m not stupid.”

”I know, dear. I wonder if I could somehow convince Porlyusica to arrive here and you and the Thunder Legion might -”

”Are you listening to yourself?” Freed chuckled. ”We are talking about Porlyusica here.”

”You’re right, she would never come here, not if it’s not something extremely dangerous and only she can help or someone from Fairy Tail is involved. What if we tell her it might help curing you as well?”

”She would never believe that and she would hit you with her broom until you’re nothing but a little stain on the ground.”

”I guess you are right”, Rufus sighed. ”Well then, since we can’t meet yet, would you maybe -”

”I am _not_ trying dirty talks with you”, Freed said with an adamant tone.

”Are you sure? It can be really -”

”I’m hanging up.”

”No! Wait! I’m sorry, of course we don’t need to try that”, Rufus quickly promised and Freed huffed.

”You better remember that, you horny fox”, he said, but he was also amused. Truth to be told, he had missed talking with Rufus.

”Memorized”, Rufus assured.

They ended up talking about other things thankfully and before Freed even noticed it was already dark outside.

”I guess I better go to bed, I promised to help in the bar right from the morning”, he said getting up from the couch.

”I see, just please don’t work too much, you still need rest”, Rufus reminded him and Freed chuckled pouring water in the kettle so he could do some tea.

”Mirajane reminded me about that today too, but I assure I’m feeling much better”, the rune mage smiled. ”You don’t need to worry.”

”I’m always worrying, dear”, Rufus said. ”No matter what. Have you been able to sleep in the house? Does it feel too big?”

”Of course it feels too big, it was way too big house for us in the first place”, Freed reminded. ”But I’m alright”, he assured taking what he needed on the tray and once the water had boiled, he poured it in the teapot. ”I’ll just take some tea and read something. If it takes longer before you can return, I’ll just go back to my room in Thunder Legion’s house so I don’t feel lonely.”

”You should”, Rufus agreed. ”Have you made sure all the windows are locked and so on?”

”Rufus, you’re starting to sound ridiculous”, Freed scolded as he went to the stairs.

”We can’t be too careful as there are mage hunters who are still after you.”

”Talking about them, has there been any new attacks?” Freed asked stepping in to their bedroom and put the tray down.

”No, we have been wondering that also. It’s like they have completely vanished. Maybe they got all the mages they wanted?”

”Could be”, Freed frowned. ”But we have to try and find those who have been kidnapped.”

”Of course. I’m just worried because they are so quiet right now.”

”I’m sure we will hear something about them soon enough”, Freed said.

”That’s why I’m worried since I’m not there.”

”I’ll be fine”, Freed smiled. Sure, Rufus could be so clingy it was getting annoying, but it was also rather sweet that the memory mage cared so much. ”Didn’t you use some magic on this house as an alarm system?”

”Of course I did”, Rufus said almost piquedly. ”I wouldn’t leave you in that house alone if there wasn’t at least somekind of an alarm system there.”

”I get it”, Freed chuckled sitting on the bed. ”Well, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

After few more moments of talk Freed finally put down his communicator lacrima and changed to his pyjama. For a while he tried to focus on reading while drinking his tea, but finally he just gave up and put away the book, shutting down the lights.

He would never admit it to anyone, but he really missed Rufus. Even more now that he had talked with him and he knew they wouldn’t see each other for at least few days yet.

Freed groaned rubbing his blushing face. He couldn’t believe there would be a time when he couldn’t sleep because he was missing someone so much! If someone had told him he would feel like this only two months before this moment, he definitely wouldn’t have believed it.

After tossing and turning around, Freed finally got up and took his clothes. He couldn’t sleep so might as well go see what Laxus, Bickslow and Evergreen were doing in their house. He highly doubted that they would be sleeping already. Maybe he could get something else to think about than Rufus.

After changing his clothes and taking his sword, Freed stepped out of the house to the dark streets that had street lights but only few travelers.

 


End file.
